Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Porphyromonas species: a review of antibioticresistance and therapeutic options

Recent basic and clinical research efforts have shed more light on the taxo nomy, microbiology, epidemiology, antimicrobial susceptibility and treatmen t of Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Porphyromonas species. Of all anaerobic b acteria, Bacteroides is the most frequently isolated pathogen from clinical specimens, including blood. Bacterioides, Prevotella and/or Porphyromonas species have been isolated from clinical specimens in cases of infection fr om almost all anatomic sites. Several multicentre surveys have documented a n alarming gradual increase of resistance rates of Bacteroides, Prevotella and Porphyromonas species worldwide. Antimicrobial agents active against >9 9% of clinical isolates of Bacteroides are metronidazole, chloramphenicol a nd carbapenems. Agents active against 95-99% of bacteroides fragilis isolat es are the beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations. . fragilis gr oup species other than B. fragilis are more likely to be resistant to beta- lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations than B. fragilis. (C) 2000 Els evier Science B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights re served.