Vancomycin susceptibility in enterococcal blood isolates in Italy: a multicenter retrospective analysis.

A retrospective, multicenter survey was performed to evaluate the frequency of vancomycin resistance among enterococcal blood isolates in Italian hospitals during 1993. Twenty-four laboratories, representing 21 cities, provided data on 177,623 blood cultures. Of 15,500 positive cultures, 778 (5%) yielded an Enterococcus. Of 362 evaluable cases of enterococcal bacteremia, a vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE) was found in only 6 (1.6%). Based on these results, VRE bacteremia did not appear to be a major problem in Italian hospitals in 1993.