| Summary: | Pneumococcal Infections caused by drug-resistant strains are an increasing problem requiring the adoption of control strategies and campaigns to promote judicious use of antibiotics. To screen for pneumococcal penicillin resistance using the Kirby-Bauer disc technique with oxacillin impregnated discs, the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) recommends Mueller Hinton Agar supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood (MHSO). Since that supplement is not accessible for many laboratories, routine antibiotic sensitivity tests are not performed in many hospitals, and thus empirical therapy could be inappropriate. The aim of this research is to compare two in vitro disk diffusion techniques to determine Streptococcus pneumoniae penicillin susceptibility. Seventy four strains were used in this study. The technique and the interpretative breakpoint were in accordance with NCCLS criteria for both methods run in parallel, except for the use of 5% serologically typed human blood as supplement to MH agar in the alternative method (MHSH).
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Epidemiology of Pneumococcal Surface Protein a (PspA) IN Streptococcus pneumoniae Causing Invasive Infections in a Paediatric Hospital in Argentina