Tolerance of Haemophilus influenzae to beta-lactam antibiotics.

Two hundred clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae were tested for tolerance (MBC/MIC greater than or equal to 32) to ampicillin and cefotaxime by broth dilution tests. Of 200 strains, 9 were tolerant to ampicillin, and 10 were tolerant to cefotaxime. Tolerant organisms were identified in both systemic and nonsystemic infections and among different biotypes and serotypes of H. influenzae. These tolerant isolates were compared with nontolerant isolates by broth dilution and killing curves with log-phase and stationary-phase inocula. Both tolerant and nontolerant bacteria in log phase were killed more rapidly by antibiotics than bacteria in stationary-phase growth. When tested against 11 different beta-lactams, several patterns of tolerance were observed. Six of the ten strains were tolerant to aztreonam, four were tolerant to cefuroxime, three were tolerant to cefamandole, and two were tolerant to cefoxitin. Strain H130 was tolerant to all beta-lactam antibiotics studied. None of the 10 tolerant H. influenzae isolates were tolerant to chloramphenicol, rifampin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, enoxacin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Although the clinical significance of tolerance is not determined, this study suggests that the bactericidal activity (MBC) of beta-lactam antibiotics against H. influenzae should be determined in cases of severe infections in which clinical response is slow or unsatisfactory.