Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by HOLZMAN, R. S.
Right arrow Articles by LYMAN, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by HOLZMAN, R. S.
Right arrow Articles by LYMAN, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 112, No. 3: 352-361
Copyright © 1980 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

other

GENTAMICIN RESISTANT AND SENSITIVE STRAINS OF S. AUREUS

FACTORS AFFECTING COLONIZATION AND VIRULENCE FOR INFANTS IN A SPECIAL CARE NURSERY

ROBERT S. HOLZMAN, ALFRED L. FLORMAN and MARGARET LYMAN

From the New York U. School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center, Dept. of Medicine (Holzman) and Dept. of Pediatrics (Florman and Lyman)

Address reprint requests to Robert S. Holzman, M.D., Dept. of Medicine, New York U. School of Medicine. 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

During an eight month period in 1978, a large number of infants in a special care nursery at Bellevue Hospital, New York City, were found to carry a Staphylococcus aureus which was resistant to gentamicin. The records of 43 newborn infants who were admitted during this period of high prevalence were analyzed retrospectively for factors that might favor acquisition of gentamicin sensitive or resistant strains. It was found that neither sex nor administration of gentamicin or kanamycin played a significant role. Duration of stay was a major determinant of colonization, but there was no significant difference between the median stay of infants colonized with gentamicin sensitive or resistant strains. A life table analysis showed no difference in the rate at which gentamicin sensitive or resistant strains were acquired. As a group, staphylococci were acquired at the same rate as Gram negative rods and less rapidly than S. epidermidis. A review of all nosocomial staphylococcal infections recognized in the unit during 1977 and 1978 did not support a concern that there might be greater risk of serious infections during the months when gentamicin resistant strains of S. aureus were prevalent. Both sensitive and resistant strains appeared to be similar in virulence. Indeed, in this infant population, there were no differences in behavior between gentamicin resistant and sensitive strains of S. aureus.

gentamicins; nosocomial infections; nurseries; hospital; Staphylococcus aureus; virulence


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.