The clinical significance of stool isolates of aeromonas.

The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of different Aeromonas species isolated from stool. During a 17-month period, 29 strains of Aeromonas were isolated and identified to species with the following results: 22, A. caviae, 5, A. hydrophila, and 2, A. sobria. Clinical significance was determined independently of knowledge of speciation result. Nineteen isolates represented colonization, implying that Aeromonas can be recovered from the gastrointestinal tract without causing primary disease. The remaining 10 isolates were of indeterminate significance and may have played a role in infection, but pertinent tests to rule out other enteric pathogens had not been done. A correlation between species and clinical significance could not be established. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on the 29 isolates. A. caviae showed an unexpected resistance to cefazolin and cefoxitin, whereas representatives of all three species displayed resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.