Due to their outer membrane, Gram negative bacteria are the only germs
which can resist antibiotics by a mechanism of reduced permeability.
This outer hydrophobic membrane allows hydrophilic molecules to pass o
nly through its aqueous pores. The transmembrane pores have a trimere
structure with a monomere component acting as an aqueous channel. Mean
pore diameter is 1 to 1.2 nm. Changes in the absolute number of pores
or in qualitative function reduce the diffusion of antibiotics enteri
ng the cell. This mechanism of reduced permeability can lead to cross
resistance to several families of antibiotics. It is difficult to dete
rmine the clinical incidence since such resistances are not always det
ected. The species most often involved are enterobacteria including Kl
ebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia and Salmonella. For Pseudomonas aerug
inosa, resistance to imipenem by reduced permeability results from a d
eficit in protein D2 and concerns 12 to 15% of the strains identified
in French Hospitals. Reduced permeability is particularly effective wh
en associated with another mechanism of resistance allowing the bacter
ia to express a higher level of resistance.