The aim of our study was to determine whether rifampin resistance emerges in human skin staphylococci after oral intake of rifaximin for surgical prophylaxis. Rifampin-resistant staphylococci appeared on the skin of 32 out of 74 patients (43.2%) two weeks after prophylactic treatment with rifaximin. In all cases, the resistant strains were coagulase-negative staphylococci. The resistance completely reverted after three months. This study shows the emergence of transient resistance to rifampin after rifaximin intake.
Keywords: Staphylococcus; antibiotic resistance; rifampin; rifaximin; surgical prophylaxis.
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