CIPROFLOXACIN-RESISTANT ESCHERICHIA-COLI EMERGING IN A REHABILITATIONMEDICAL-CENTER

A retrospective review of laboratory records from 1988 to 1996 has sho wn an increased rate of ciprofloxacin-resistant (cip(r)) Escherichia c oli in our rehabilitation center. Resistance increased from 0.6% in 19 89 to 5.9% in 1996. Of 7870 E. coli strains isolated during this perio d, 257 cip(r)-E. coil were recovered from 257 patients. The majority ( 96%) of these resistant strains were isolated from the urine samples. One hundred and twenty strains of cip(r)-E. coli were also resistant t o four other fluoroquinolones. MICs ranging from 64 to 512 mu g/mL wer e observed in 75% of the strains and greater than or equal to 1028 mu g/mL in 6.4% of the strains. Resistance to ciprofloxacin was due to po ssible mutations in topoisomerase gyrA. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.