Bacterial resistance to antibiotics in American hospitals.

A total of 5,825,243 strains of bacteria were isolated in 242 American hospitals during a period of twelve years (1971 to 1982). The susceptibility to antibiotics of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella sp. Proteus mirabilis, Haemophilus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. did not change significantly during this period of time. The susceptibility to tetracycline for E. coli and S. aureus increased. Streptococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus epidermidis showed a decrease in susceptibility.