Incidence of inducible beta-lactamases in gram-negative septicemia isolates from twenty-nine European laboratories. European Study Group on Antibiotic Resistance.

In 1984 the European Study Group on Antibiotic Resistance (ESGAR), which is made up of 29 laboratories in 12 European countries, consecutively collected gram-negative bacilli and staphylococci isolates from blood and using the microdilution method performed susceptibility testing with 11 beta-lactam antibiotics. A total of 2,578 isolates were collected; 68% were gram-negatives and 32% staphylococci. Pseudomonas spp. accounted for 12% of the strains, Enterobacter spp. 7%, Serratia spp. 3%, indole-positive Proteus spp. 1%, Citrobacter spp. and Morganella spp. 0.9% each. Strains with inducible beta-lactamases were detected by the cefoxitin disc diffusion method in 11% of all gram-negatives and in 67% of the relevant species. The production of inducible beta-lactamase was confirmed by elevated MICs to and decreased killing by piperacillin, cefotaxime and ceftazidime after induction of enzyme production with low concentrations of cefoxitin. This phenomenon was not observed with mecillinam or the new penem Sch 34343.