THE MINIMUM INHIBITORY CONCENTRATION OF 17 ANTIMICROBIALS FOR SALMONELLA ISOLATES FROM SEPTIC PATIENTS

Herein we are reporting, for the first time in Kuwait, the minimum inh ibitory concentrations (MICs) of Salmonella blood culture isolates vs. 17 clinically relevant antimicrobial agents. The screening of blood c ulture specimens was performed with the most advanced Bactec 9240 (Bec ton Dickinson). From over 20,000 blood cultures, 112 Salmonella isolat es were obtained from 67 patients. Their MICs were determined using th e automated Vitek microdilution technique (Biomerieux Vitek Inc.). Dur ing the whole 1991-1995 study period, the MICs for cefotaxime, ceftazi dime, aztreonam, amikacin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and imipenem were below their respective susceptibility breakpoints. Resistance to chlo ramphenicol, ampicillin and cotrimoxazole varied from year to year, fr om 18% to 50%, except in 1991 when it was nil (1991 was the first year after the Gulf War, with very few newcomers from the Indian subcontin ent). All ampicillin-susceptible S. typhi isolates had extremely low M IC values (less than or equal to 0.25 mu g/ml).