Pyocine Typing ofPseudomonas aeruginosa: Clinical and Epidemiologic Aspects

Abstract

Fifteen hundred clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from 639 patients were pyocine typed using the indicator strains and a rapid glass rod modification of the standardized method of Gillies and Govan. The results suggest that hospitals differ in ranges and patterns of pyocine types. Of major interest was the adaptation of pyocine typing in determining the sites of colonization in patients with the same pyocine type of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in more than one clinical source, and its correlation with the patient’s clinical diagnosis. Pyocine typing was also found to be a workable epidemiologic tool, with the help of a surveillance officer, for routine monitoring of nosocomial infections by the Hospital Infection Committee.