Clinical aspects of antimicrobial resistance

Soon after penicillin was introduced into clinical use, an enzyme (penicill inase) that inactivated it was discovered, Since then, the variety of antim icrobial agents has increased substantially, along with a parallel increase in resistant pathogenic microorganisms. Resistance is now recognized again st all available antimicrobial agents. Factors influencing the emergence of resistance include indiscriminate use of antibiotics, prolonged hospitaliz ations, increasing numbers of immunocompromised patients, and medical progr ess resulting in increased use of invasive procedures and devices. This art icle provides an update on clinical aspects of a fen commonly found resista nt microorganisms relevant to day-to-day clinical practice. A discussion of all resistant organisms is beyond the scope of this report. Both viral and mycobacterial resistance have been addressed in previous articles In this symposium.