Antibiotic sensitivities of urinary pathogens isolated from patients in Liverpool, 1984-5.

Urinary pathogens isolated from patients in general practice, an antenatal clinic and several hospitals in Liverpool during 1984-5 have been tested for antibiotic sensitivities. The proportion of sensitive organisms varied from antimicrobial to antimicrobial and from institution to institution. Isolates from all institutions showed high rates of sensitivity to cephradine, nalidixic acid and nitrofurantoin, and somewhat lower rates to trimethoprim. Significantly lower sensitivities were found to ampicillin and sulphamethoxazole indicating that neither ampicillin nor a sulphonamide is suitable for initial choice on a 'best guess' basis in the situation studied. In general, the organisms derived from the antenatal patients showed the highest rates of sensitivity and those isolated from patients in geriatric hospitals the lowest.