Antibiotic resistance characteristics of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium at Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital, Hai Phong, in 2024

Abstract

Objectives: (1) To determine the prevalence of infections caused by Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium at Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital in 2024; (2) To evaluate the antibiotic resistance characteristics of E. faecalis and E. faecium strains isolated in the study. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 78 E. faecalis and 70 E. faecium strains isolated from various clinical specimens at the Microbiology Department of Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital in 2024. Results: The infection rates for E. faecalis and E. faecium were 0.4% and 0.36%, respectively. The highest proportion of isolates for both species was found in urine samples (50% for E. faecalis and 51.4% for E. faecium). E. faecium strains exhibited high resistance rates (>80%) to penicillin, ampicillin, and high-level gentamicin. E. faecalis strains showed the highest resistance to high-level gentamicin (63.6%). Both E. faecalis and E. faecium included linezolid-resistant strains. No E. faecalis isolate was found to be resistant to vancomycin. Conclusions: E. faecalis and E. faecium were most frequently isolated from urine specimens. E. faecium exhibited high resistance rates to multiple antibiotics. Although linezolid-resistant strains of both species were identified, their prevalence remains low. No vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis strain was detected.