Metronidazole and clarithromycin resistance in Helicobacter pylori determined by measuring MICs of antimicrobial agents in color indicator egg yolk agar in a miniwell format

A. Vasquez, Y. Valdez, R. H. Gilman, J. J. McDonald, T. U. Westblom, D. Berg, H. Mayta, V. Gutierrez, Robert Berendson, Raul Leon-Barua, Alberto Ramirez-Ramos, Sixto Recavarren-Arce, Jose Watanabe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

Resistance of Helicobacter pylori to metronidazole often causes failure of commonly used combination drug treatment regimens. We determined the MICs of metronidazole and clarithromycin against 18 H. pylori strains from Peru using tetrazolium egg yolk (TEY) agar. The MIC results obtained by agar dilution with petri dishes were compared with the results found through a miniwell format. The results of the two protocols for measuring drug susceptibility differed by no more than 1 dilution in all cases. On TEY agar, bright-red H. pylori colonies were easy to identify against a yellow background. Sixty-one percent (11 of 18) of the strains were resistant to metronidazole (MIC, ≥4 μg/ml) and 50% (9 of 18) were resistant to clarithromycin (MIC, ≥0.125 μg/ml), whereas none (0 of 5) of the strains tested were resistant to tetracycline (MIC, ≥1 μg/ml). Thus, the prevalence of metronidazole and clarithromycin resistance in Peru is higher than that in developed regions of the world. The miniwell plate with TEY agar allows easy H. pylori colony identification, requires about one-third less of the costly medium necessary for petri dish assaying, conserves space, and yields MICs equivalent to those with agar dilution in petri dishes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1232-1234
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of clinical microbiology
Volume34
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1996

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)

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