Establishment of MICs of moxalactam for control and reference anaerobic organisms in agar dilution and microdilution techniques

Quality control criteria for testing the susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria to meropenem

Reference values for quality control of in vitro susceptibility tests with meropenem against anaerobic bacteria were determined in a multilaboratory study by the approved National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards agar dilution method for the four quality control strains. The study protocol also included the evaluation of microdilution testing, medium additives, and multiple lots of media. The recommended MIC control ranges for three of the control organisms are as follows: Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 25285, 0.06 to 0.125 micrograms/ml; Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron ATCC 29741, 0.125 to 0.5 micrograms/ml; and Eubacterium lentum ATCC 43055, 0.125 to 0.5 micrograms/ml. The modal MIC for Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124 was at or below the lowest concentration of meropenem tested, and no values are recommended.

Eubacterium lentum ATCC 43055, a new reference strain for quality control of anaerobic susceptibility tests

A strain of Eubacterium lentum (ATCC 43055) was selected for quality control of anaerobic susceptibility tests. Multilaboratory collaborative studies with 13 different antimicrobial agents were reviewed, and MIC control limits were proposed for agar dilution tests with the new control strain.

Quality control limits for the standard anaerobic reference agar dilution susceptibility test procedure of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards

Multilaboratory studies were performed to develop MIC quality control limits for the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards reference agar dilution method for anaerobic susceptibility tests. Acceptable MICs were defined as those which include greater than 95% of all 100 MICs generated by the study. Most MIC control limits included either 2- or 3-dilution intervals rather than the more traditional 3-dilution intervals that are described as the mode +/- 1 doubling dilution.

Quality control guidelines for testing cefotetan in the reference agar dilution procedure for susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria

Reference values for quality control of in vitro susceptibility tests with cefotetan against anaerobic bacteria were determined in two independent multilaboratory studies with the approved National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards agar dilution method and three control strains (Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 25285, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron ATCC 29741, and Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124). The results of the two studies were in agreement. The recommended MIC control limits for B. fragilis ATCC 25285 and B. thetaiotaomicron ATCC 29741 are 4.0 to 16 micrograms/ml and 32 to 128 micrograms/ml, respectively. MICs for C. perfringens ATCC 13124 were too variable to be useful for controlling tests with cefotetan.

Annual incidence, epidemiology, and comparative in vitro susceptibilities to cefoxitin, cefotetan, cefmetazole, and ceftizoxime of recent community-acquired isolates of the Bacteroides fragilis group

The six species of the Bacteroides fragilis group are potent pathogens and commonly have different susceptibility patterns. We determined the relative annual isolation rate of anaerobic bacteria and the susceptibility of B. fragilis group species isolated during 1987 at two community hospitals. The relative frequencies of isolation of 261 strains were as follows: B. fragilis, 61%; B. thetaiotaomicron, 17%; B. distasonis, 7%; B. vulgatus, 6%; B. ovatus, 5%; and B. uniformis, 4%. A total of 234 recent clinical isolates were tested against cefmetazole, cefotetan, cefoxitin, ceftizoxime, clindamycin, imipenem, and piperacillin by a brucella agar dilution method. Imipenem was the most active agent tested with all but three isolates (two B. vulgatus and one B. distasonis) susceptible to less than 2 micrograms/ml. Of the cephalosporins tested, cefoxitin, cefotetan, and cefmetazole were relatively equal against B. fragilis, with 93 to 98% of strains susceptible to 32 micrograms/ml. Ceftizoxime was less active, with an MIC for 90% of strains tested of 128 micrograms/ml and only 75% of isolates susceptible to 32 micrograms/ml. Against B. ovatus, B. vulgatus, B. thetaiotaomicron, and B. uniformis, cefoxitin showed a two- to threefold-superior activity compared with that of cefotetan and cefmetazole. In general, ceftizoxime was much less active, except against B. distasonis, for which 78% of isolates were susceptible to 32 micrograms/ml compared with 68% for cefoxitin, 19% for cefmetazole, and 16% for cefotetan. Clindamycin and piperacillin showed activity similar to that of cefoxitin, except piperacillin was less active versus B. vulgatus and B. distasonis. We therefore suggest that clinical laboratories determine the species of B. fragilis group isolates as well as perform susceptibility studies on the isolates. Clinicians should be aware that while B. fragilis is the most frequent isolate, 38% of isolates are from other, more resistant B. fragilis group species.

Comparison of kill-kinetic studies with agar and broth microdilution methods for determination of antimicrobial activity of selected agents against members of the Bacteroides fragilis group

Kill-kinetic studies often are used to determine the rate and degree of killing of aerobic bacteria by antimicrobial agents. Few studies, however, make use of this method for determining antimicrobial activity against anaerobic bacteria. To evaluate kill-kinetic studies for anaerobes, kill-kinetic studies were performed for selected antimicrobial agents against members of the Bacteroides fragilis group and compared with MICs obtained by using a reference agar dilution method and a broth microdilution method. Results of the kill-kinetic studies showed that the degree of killing over a 24-h test period was related to the MIC for the test organism. In general, the higher the MIC of an antimicrobial agent for a test organism, the less the killing observed. In addition, these studies demonstrate subtle differences in bactericidal activity at various concentrations of the antimicrobial agents, which cannot be determined by agar or broth dilution methods. Kill-kinetic studies are a useful addition to dilution methods for the evaluation of antimicrobial agents against anaerobes.

Evaluation of broth disk elution methods for susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria with the newer beta-lactam antibiotics

Broth disk elution procedures represent one of the most practical means for clinical laboratories to perform routine antibiotic susceptibility tests on anaerobic bacteria. The accuracy of five disk elution test methods and media (including the one to be proposed by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards) was evaluated for the testing of newer beta-lactam antibiotics, including cefoperazone, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, ceftazidime, ceftizoxime, moxalactam, and piperacillin. Various numbers of antibiotic disks were used to achieve disk elution test concentrations which approximated the highest MIC termed susceptible by the Food and Drug Administration. A group of 88 anaerobes representing many different species was tested in parallel by the five disk elution methods and the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards reference agar dilution procedure. Overall, full agreement between the reference agar dilution MICs and the disk elution category results was 88.3% for PRAS BHI, 84.5% for Schaedler, 85.7% for thioglycolate, and 87.4% for Wilkins-Chalgren broth. Essential agreement (+/- 1 twofold MIC increment from the disk elution concentration) was achieved with 94.6% of PRAS BHI tests, 94.3% of Schaedler tests, 93.6% of thioglycolate tests, and 95.7% of Wilkins-Chalgren tests. Due to growth failures with a number of isolates and difficulties in interpreting results, the use of Wilkins-West broth was discontinued after approximately one-half of the isolates had been tested. The majority of errors with all of the disk elution methods occurred with isolates (most notably members of the Bacteroides fragilis group) having MICs near the single test concentrations used in the disk methods. With the notable exception of tests for the B. fragilis group, the disk elution methods offered acceptable accuracy with the newer beta-lactam antibiotics tested in this study.