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Factors affecting antimicrobial susceptibility of Fusobacterium species

1987; American Society for Microbiology; Volume: 25; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1128/jcm.25.3.476-479.1987

1098-660X

Megan D. Rowland, Victor E. Del Bene, J W Lewis,

Nosocomial Infections in ICU

Fifteen clinical isolates of Fusobacterium species were studied to determine their quality of growth on five agar media, their susceptibility to penicillin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, and cefotaxime, the inoculum effect, and the presence of L forms and beta-lactamase. Wilkins-Chalgren agar supported confluent growth best, but Fusobacterium nucleatum exhibited poor growth on all agar media. Most isolates exhibited poor reproducibility of MIC results with repeated agar dilution testing. However, most isolates were susceptible to all antibiotics at the breakpoint concentrations. No inoculum effect was observed, but preparation of an inoculum at a 0.5 McFarland nephelometric standard produced a lower than expected number of CFU (10(6) CFU) in some isolates. L forms were frequently seen. No beta-lactamase was found. The variability in MICs seen with beta-lactam antibiotics was not found when clindamycin was tested. MIC studies with Fusobacterium spp. may be complicated by poor growth on agar media, poor reproducibility, and small inoculum size.