Revista española de quimioterapia : publicación oficial de la Sociedad Española de Quimioterapia
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Bacteremia continues to be one of the main causes of mortality despite the existence of numerous antimicrobial agents and an increase in means of support. A variety of factors, such as the type of microorganism, age, the underlying disease and where the bacteremia was acquired, can change the prognosis of the infection. The aim of this study was to analyze the cases of community-acquired bacteremia gathered prospectively from the Basurto hospital in Bilbao, Spain. ⋯ The use of imipenem and quinolones increased. E. coli resistance to quinolones increased from 3.54% in 1995 to 14.36% in 2000. Mortality decreased slightly, with no significant differences.
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In vitro susceptibility to acyclovir of 96 strains of herpes simplex virus isolated from 80 immunocompromised patients attended in our hospital was studied by the cytopathic effect reduction assay. Ninety-eight percent (61/62) of herpes simplex virus 1 strains and 91% (31/34) of herpes simplex virus 2 strains were inhibited by acyclovir concentrations lower than 3 mg/l. In 5% of the patients herpes simplex strains resistant to acyclovir (ID(50) >3 mg/l) were isolated. ⋯ In two cases, the cytopathic effect reduction assay was not able to predict treatment failure and persistance of the lesions was not always associated with isolation of a resistant strain in vitro. In four cases, isolation of a strain resistant to acyclovir was not indicative of treatment failure. In conclusion, we believe there is no need to routinely test susceptibility of herpes simplex viruses to acyclovir and that susceptibility testing should be indicated only in patients in whom lesions persist and other causes have been ruled out.