In vitro susceptibility of Clostridium difficile isolates from patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea or colitis

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1980 Apr;17(4):695-8. doi: 10.1128/AAC.17.4.695.

Abstract

In vitro susceptibility tests were performed on 84 strains of Clostridium difficile to 11 antimicrobial agents. All isolates were from the stools of patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea or colitis in which there was a cytopathic toxin that was neutralized by Clostridium sordellii antitoxin. Over 95% of the strains were susceptible to vancomycin, penicillin G, ampicillin, and metronidazole at concentrations of 4 microgram/ml. Susceptibility to clindamycin was variable; 60% of the strains were susceptible at 1 microgram/ml, and 9% were resistant at 128 microgram/ml. Studies of individual isolates showed that a major portion of the strains were relatively susceptible to the antimicrobial agent implicated in causing the disease.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / adverse effects
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Clostridium / drug effects*
  • Clostridium / isolation & purification
  • Colitis / chemically induced
  • Colitis / microbiology*
  • Cytotoxins / isolation & purification
  • Diarrhea / chemically induced
  • Diarrhea / microbiology*
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Cytotoxins