Previous published reports have shown that group B Streptococcus (GBS) isolates were 100% susceptible to both penicillin (1, 2) and vancomycin (1); however, reduced susceptibilities to penicillin have been documented (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). GBS susceptibilities to clindamycin and erythromycin have varied (2,(9)(10)(11)(12), and data regarding inducible clindamycin resistance are not always reported (2). We examined GBS susceptibilities to clindamycin, erythromycin, penicillin, and vancomycin from isolates obtained from prenatal screening samples.Vaginal/rectal ESwab (Copan Diagnostics Inc., Murrieta, CA) samples submitted for routine prenatal GBS screenings were evaluated. GBS was isolated and identified using Strep B Carrot Broth (Hardy Diagnostics, Santa Maria, CA) subcultured to GBS Detect (Hardy Diagnostics, Santa Maria, CA) as previously described (13). GBS Detect is a selective medium, and it allows for the isolation of GBS, including strains that are typically nonhemolytic on sheep blood agar. Immediately following isolation, GBS isolates were subcultured to sheep blood agar plates (Remel, Lenexa, KS) and incubated aerobically for 18 to 20 h at 35°C. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was performed according to 2013 CLSI guidelines (14) on 102 GBS isolates using vancomycin and benzylpenicillin G (0.016 to 256 g/ml) Etest strips (bioMérieux, Durham, NC) and on 387 GBS isolates using clindamycin (2 g) and erythromycin (15 g) BBL Sensi-Discs (Becton, Dickinson, and Company, Sparks, MD) placed 12 mm apart to detect inducible clindamycin resistance.A total of 102/102 (100%) GBS isolates examined were susceptible to penicillin and vancomycin (Table 1). Both the MIC 50 and MIC 90 for penicillin were 0.064 g/ml, and both the MIC 50 and MIC 90 for vancomycin were 1.0 g/ml (data not shown). GBS isolates were susceptible to both clindamycin and erythromycin in 195/387 (50.4%) isolates and resistant to both clindamycin and erythromycin in 106/387 (27.4%) isolates (data not shown). An additional 8% (31/387) of isolates had a positive D-test, indicating inducible clindamycin resistance. The overall susceptibilities of GBS isolates to clindamycin were 62.8% (243/387) or 70.8% (274/ 387), accounting for or not accounting for inducible clindamycin resistance, respectively. The overall susceptibility of GBS isolates to erythromycin was 51.7% (200/387) ( Table 1).Current recommendations for GBS in pregnant women include AST of GBS strains isolated from penicillin-allergic women at high risk for anaphylaxis, screening for inducible clindamycin resistance when AST is performed, and reporting GBS isolates with inducible clindamycin resistance as clindamycin resistant (15). However, penicillin allergy may not always be known at the onset of labor. Our laboratory routinely performs clindamycin and erythromycin susceptibility testing on all GBS strains isolated from prenatal screening samples. Here we report rates of susceptibility of GBS to clindamycin, erythromycin, penicillin, and vancomycin that are very similar to those ...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.