Abstract
Introduction: The frequency of severe pneumococcal disease among children is of high public health interest because the HIV epidemics coincides with the emergence of pneumococcus strains resistant to penicillin and to many other antibiotics. Although the increased predisposition of HIVinfected children to invasive bacterial diseases has been well documented, few studies have detailed the differences in the colonizing pattern and in susceptibility to antibiotics of these bacteria among HIV-infected children.
Objectives: To determine the resistance to penicillin among strains colonizing the nasopharynx in HIV-infected children aged 0 to 18 years followed up on an ambulatory basis and to identify the serotypes prevalent in this population.
Method s: This was a cross-sectional observational study in which 112 swabs were collected from the nasopharynx of the children on the day of their monthly visit and a questionnaire was applied to the mothers. The collected material was processed in the microbiology laboratory of the hospital according to NCCLS norms and serotyping was performed at the CDC. Statistical analysis was carried out using the chisquare test.
Results: The prevalence of nasopharyngeal colonization by pneumococci was 28.6%, with 15.6% resistance to penicillin (6.2% intermediate resistance and 9.4% full resistance). The serotypes identified were 6A, 6B, 7C, 9V, 11A, 13, 14, 15A, 16F, 18C, 19B, 19F, 23B, 23F, and 34.
Conclusions: Resistance to penicillin among pneumococcus strains isolated from the nasopharynx of HIV -infected children in our service was not higher than that reported in the literature for healthy children.
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Cunha, C., Cervi, M., Leite, C. et al. Resistance to Penicillin Among Pneumococcus Strains Isolated from the Nasopharynx of HIV-Infected Children: TL025. Pediatr Res 60, 637 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200611000-00032
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200611000-00032
