Cefotaxime-resistant Nocardia asteroides strains are isolates of the controversial species Nocardia farcinica
- 1 December 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
- Vol. 28 (12), 2726-2732
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.28.12.2726-2732.1990
Abstract
A recent study of Nocardia asteroides revealed that 95% of clinical strains had one of five antibiotic resistance patterns. We found the pattern of resistance to cefotaxime and cefamandole in 19% of 200 clinical N. asteroides isolates. Isolates with this drug resistance pattern were from numerous geographic sources and were associated with significant clinical disease (56% of patients had disseminated infections). Phenotypic studies revealed that these isolates were relatively homogeneous and matched previous descriptions and reference strains of the controversial species N. farcinica. Growth at 45.degree.C, acid production from rhamnose, ability to utilize acetamide as a nitrogen and carbon source, and resistance to tobramycin and cefamandole were features of N. farcinica that could be tested in the clinical laboratory and allowed their distinction from N. asteroides. The serious nature of disease due to N. farcinica and its resistance to the newer cephalosporins suggest a clinical need for laboratory identification of this species. (Current tests used in clinical laboratories do not distinguish N. farcinica from N. asteroides). This is the first recognition that N. farcinica has a specific drug resistance pattern and confirms the previously described concept that drug resistance patterns of N. asteroides may be associated with specific taxonomic groups.This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- In-vitro susceptibility testing of Nocardia spp. and its taxonomic implicationJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 1988
- Susceptibility testing of nocardia species for the clinical laboratoryDiagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 1988
- \gb-Lactam Resistance in Nocardia brasiliensis is Mediated by -Lactamase and Reversed in the Presence of Clavulanic AcidThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1987
- In-vitro susceptibility ofNocardia asteroides to 21 β-lactam antibiotics, in combination with three β-lactamase inhibitors, and its relationship to the β-lactamase contentJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 1985
- Numerical Classification of Some Named Strains of Nocardia asteroides and Related Isolates from SoilMicrobiology, 1980
- Antibiotic Sensitivity of Some Nocardioform Bacteria and its Value as a Criterion for TaxonomyJournal of General Microbiology, 1974
- Numerical taxonomy of NocardiaCanadian Journal of Microbiology, 1973
- Numerical Taxonomy of the Genus NocardiaJournal of General Microbiology, 1969
- Delineation of Nocardia farcinica by Delayed Type Skin Reactions on Guinea PigsJournal of General Microbiology, 1968
- The Type Species of the Genus NocardiaJournal of General Microbiology, 1962