HOSPITAL AND COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS DUE TO GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA, IN THE ELDERLY

308 bacterial strains were studied so as to assess the frequency of is olation as well as the resistance to antibiotics of Gram negative bact erial strains, responsible for urinary tract infections in the elderly , in a geriatric hospital. E. coli was by far the most frequently isol ated species (60 %), followed by the genera Proteus (16 %), Klebsiella , Enterobacter and Pseudomonas (5 % each). No difference in the distri bution was observed even after sorting the strains as hospital or comm unity acquired. The strains studied showed a high level of resistance (between 7.5 % and 60 %) to the 10 antibiotics tested (7 beta-lactams, 2 quinolones, and cotrimoxazole), This level was significantly higher with Gram negative bacteria other than E. coli than with E. coli, Fur thermore, when making the distinction between nosocomial and community acquired strains, it appeared that the nosocomial strains were signif icantly more frequently resistant to quinolones and cotrimoxazole than community acquired strains, This higher degree of resistance was abov e all accounted for by nosocomial strains off. coli. It follows that w henever a nosocomial E, coli strain is isolated, it should be consider ed as a risk factor because of the probable multiresistance of this st rain.