EVOLUTION OF BACTERIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ANTIBIOTICS DURING A 6-YEAR PERIOD IN A HEMATOLOGY UNIT

A knowledge of the bacterial ecology of a haematology unit should help in the management of the febrile patient with or without neutropenia. We studied the prevalence and the susceptibility profiles of bacteria isolated during a six-year period among patients hospitalized in a 44 -bed haematology unit. Antibiotic use over this period was also studie d. The most prevalent bacteria were coagulase-negative staphylococci ( CNS) (35.1%), Escherichia coli (11.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.9%), Enterococcus spp. (8.2%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7.5%). The susce ptibility of CNS to oxacillin decreased from 67-44% over six years, wh ile that of enterobacteriaceae to amoxycillin and piperacillin was red uced by about 50%. P. aeruginosa susceptibility to ceftazidime remaine d remarkably stable at around 90%, despite extensive empirical use. Im ipenem and ciprofloxacin were used restrictively and ceftazidime-resis tant P. aeruginosa remained susceptible to these two agents in most ca ses. Our antibiotic policy was found to be compatible with the frequen cy of the bacterial strains isolated in our department and with their susceptibility profiles.