Bacteremia due to viridans group Streptococci with diminished susceptibility to Levofloxacin among neutropenic patients receiving levofloxacin prophylaxis

Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Jun 1;34(11):1469-74. doi: 10.1086/340352. Epub 2002 May 7.

Abstract

Despite the use of levofloxacin prophylaxis during the neutropenic period after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, viridans group (VG) streptococcal bacteremia developed in 6 (16.2%) of 37 patients who underwent transplantation between 1 January and 25 February 2001 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. All 6 patients presented with fever and mucositis after a mean of 4.5 days of neutropenia, and 3 developed septic shock. All 6 VG streptococcal isolates from these patients exhibited distinct patterns on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. All isolates had diminished susceptibility to levofloxacin, 5 to gatifloxacin, and 4 to moxifloxacin. Quinolone resistance was associated with mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region of GyrA and (for 1 isolate) of ParC. The use of levofloxacin may select VG streptococci with diminished susceptibility to levofloxacin and other quinolones with enhanced activity against gram-positive organisms and, therefore, may not be optimal for preventing VG streptococcal bacteremia in neutropenic patients.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anti-Infective Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Bacteremia / microbiology*
  • Chemoprevention / adverse effects
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Levofloxacin*
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Neutropenia / prevention & control*
  • Ofloxacin / adverse effects
  • Ofloxacin / therapeutic use*
  • Streptococcus* / drug effects

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Levofloxacin
  • Ofloxacin