Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2006
Contemporary antimicrobial activity of triple antibiotic ointment: a multiphased study of recent clinical isolates in the United States and Australia.
Triple antibiotic ointment (TAO) containing neomycin, polymyxin B, and bacitracin was launched in the 1950s in the United States (USA) as a prescription product and then was used over the counter (OTC) since the 1970s (USA) to prevent superficial wound infections. In Australia, TAO has been restricted to prescription use. This study 1) determined cross-resistance patterns of neomycin compared with other aminoglycosides; 2) determined the level and trend of resistance to TAO and individual components especially versus mupirocin-resistant strains (USA); and 3) established the baseline TAO activity level against pathogens from Australia. ⋯ TAO resistance was rare in the United States after extensive OTC use and was not adversely influenced by decades of parenteral aminoglycoside use. Australian surveillance showed high levels of TAO susceptibility in sampled isolates as a baseline for possible OTC availability. TAO maintains a wider spectrum of activity compared with mupirocin and was usable against mupirocin-resistant Gram-positive strains.