[Activity of cefpodoxime and other oral beta-lactams against Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae with different susceptibilities to penicillin].

This study explores the influence on the intrinsic activity of different oral beta-lactams of beta-lactamase production in Haemophilus influenzae and penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Three substudies were performed: a) a general susceptibility study, analyzing 550 strains received by the Spanish Laboratorio de Referencia de Neumococos throughout February and March 2005; b) a study on the influence of penicillin resistance on the activity of beta-lactams, analyzing 251 penicillin-susceptible strains (MIC<or=0.06 mg/l), 165 penicillin intermediate-resistant strains (MIC 0.12-1 mg/l) and 139 penicillin-resistant strains (MIC>or=2 mg/l) randomly chosen among those received by the Spanish Laboratorio de Referencia de Neumococos throughout 2005; and c) an H. influenzae susceptibility study analyzing 150 strains received by Instituto Valenciano de Microbiologia throughout 2005. A total of 71% of S. pneumoniae strains were susceptible to penicillin, 21% exhibited intermediate resistance and 8% strains presented full resistance. H. influenzae beta-lactamase production rate was 18.6%. Of the non-beta-lactamase-producing strains, 3% were not susceptible to ampicillin. Cefpodoxime and cefixime exhibited the highest intrinsic activity against H. influenzae, while amoxicillin and cefpodoxime were the most active compounds against S. pneumoniae. All H. influenzae strains were susceptible to oral cephalosporins and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. The increase in penicillin resistance in S. pneumoniae influenced cefixime, cefaclor and cefuroxime to a higher degree than amoxicillin and cefpodoxime.