Resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics in gram-negative bacilli and staphylococci isolated from blood. Report from a European collaborative study. The ESGAR Study Group (European Study Group on Antibiotic Resistance).

The incidence of resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin and netilmicin was determined by the microdilution method in Mueller-Hinton broth among blood culture isolates consecutively collected in 37 laboratories in 14 European countries. The distribution of bacteria was similar in each laboratory, Escherichia coli and staphylococci predominating. Resistance levels varied between laboratories but they were higher to all four antibiotics in Southern Europe than in Central and Northern Europe. Aminoglycoside resistance was usually associated with production of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes, ANT(2"), AAC (3)-V, AAC (6')-I predominating in Gram-negative bacilli and APH (2") + AAC (6') and ANT (4')-I in staphylococci.