DIFFUSION METHODS FOR CLARITHROMYCIN AND LEVOFLOXACIN SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI
Background: The rate of antibiotic resistance in H. pylori is increasing and has become a main cause for failure of treatment. Antibiogram is very important to provide optimal regimens for eradication of H.pylori infected patients. Objective: To determine the resistance prevalence to clarithromycin, levofloxacin of H.pylori strains from patients in Central Vietnam by E-test and disk diffusion isolated, assess the relationship between two diffusion methods. Methods: 56 H.pylori strains were isolated from gastric biopsies of H.pylori infected patients from 7/2012 to 8/2013, of which 13 strains originated from patients in whom eradication of the infection failed after treatment. E-test was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of clarithromycin (CH) and levofloxacin (LE). Disk diffusion was evaluated as an alternative method to determine susceptibility and compared with the E-test results. Results: In total, the resistant strains (regardless of previous eradication history) to CH, LE were 42,9% and 44,6%, respectively. The ratio of strains with secondary resistance was significantly greater than that of the strains with primary resistance, CH: 84.6% vs. 30.2%, LE: 61.5% vs 39,5% (p < 0.05). The resistance rate to LE in female was significantly higher than in male (p < 0.05). All CH-sensitive strains by E-test had the inhibition diameters of CH was ≥ 24mm and all CH-resistant strains had the inhibition diameters was ≤ 18mm (breakpoint for MIC: 1µg/ml). To LE, the inhibition diameters was ≥ 30mm can determine all LE-sensitive strains and the inhibition diameters was ≤ 26mm can determine all LE-resistant strains by E-test (breakpoint for MIC: 1µg/ml). Conclusions: High resistance rate to CH and LE, suggests that standard CH-based triple therapie may not be useful as the first-line treatment and LE-based triple therapy should not use as an alternative therapy in Central Vietnam. The disk diffusion can use as alternative phenotypic method to determine the susceptbility of H.pylori, which is more practical and inexpensive. Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, levofloxacin, clarithromycin, E-test antibiotic resistance, disk diffusion.