Evaluation of susceptibility testing to detect fluoroquinolone resistance mechanisms in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

To determine if susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumoniae could detect those isolates that had one of the recognized mechanisms of fluoroquinolone resistance, 101 isolates were selected; the levofloxacin MIC for 28 of these isolates was > or =4 microg/ml. Only isolates with both parC and gyrA mutations or with no recognized resistance mechanisms were reliably identified by using these results. Isolates with only a parC mutation could not be detected reliably using any susceptibility testing method.