Identification of vancomycin resistance in enterococcus & determination of minimal inhibitory concentration of vancomycin by E-test

Introduction: Infections due to Enterococcal species is 2 prevalent cause of Nosocomial Infections in health care settings. They are crucial because to their inherent resistance to penicillins, cephalosporins, and low level aminoglycosides & their tendency to develop higher level of aminoglycoside and vancomycin resistance, which leaves few therapeutic alternatives for therapy.Objectives: Isolation and identification of Enterococci with their Antibiogram & determination of Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of Vancomycin by E-test.Materials and Methods: The antibiogram generated by Kirby Baur disc diffusion method and standard microbiological procedures were used to identify enterococcal isolates from distinct clinical samples. MIC level for Vancomycin was tested for all the isolates using E-test from BIOMERIEUX.Results: Total of 108 isolates (62 E.faecalis and 46 E. faecium) were tested by E-test for MIC of Vancomycin, of which 40 (37.03%) (22 E.faecalis & 18 E. faecium) were Vancomycin Resistant (VRE) strains, having MIC level >32 ?g/ml. Nine strains out of 40 (45%) were found to have MIC >256 ?g/ml. The enterococcal isolates were observed to be sensitive to Linezolid (80%), Ofloxacin (74%), Amoxyclav (74%) and Cefaperazone (70%).Conclusion: For the Indian medical community, the rise of antibiotic resistance among Enterococcal species has been a significant concern. So this is need of present era that our laboratories must be well-equipped to report the resistance patterns displayed by enterococci in order to practise evidence-based medicine and reduce hospital acquired infections.