Glycopeptide resistance in staphylococci

Curr Opin Infect Dis. 1998 Dec;11(6):653-8. doi: 10.1097/00001432-199812000-00002.

Abstract

Glycopeptide antibiotics have become the last bastion for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive hospital pathogens, the two main ones being methicillin-resistant S. aureus and enterococci. However, in addition to the emergence of vancomycin resistance in enterococci, certain staphylococcal strains with low-level resistance to glycopeptides have increasingly been isolated from clinical specimens. This review focuses on mechanisms of resistance, epidemiology, control measures and therapeutic options for these staphylococci.