VANCOMYCIN RESISTANCE IN STAPHYLOCOCCI

Recent emergence of vancomycin resistance in methicillin-resistant Sta phylococcus aureus (VRSA) has posed a new threat to hospital infection control and antibiotic chemotherapy. Relatively low-level resistance of VRSA compared to that of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), an d prevalence of S. aureus clinical strains heterogeneously resistant t o vancomycin (hetero-VRSA), challenge the value of routine antibiotic susceptibility tests as a tool for the prediction of clinical efficacy of vancomycin therapy. This review summarizes the history of emergenc e of glycopeptide resistance in staphylococci and considers the mechan ism of resistance in these organisms.