Sub-inhibitory and post-antibiotic effects of spiramycin and erythromycin on Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract
The antibacterial responses of clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus to spiramycin and erythromycin were compared. Conventional MICs showed erythromycin-sensitive strains to be 16–32 times less sensitive to spiramycin. MBCs were only four to eight times higher for spiramycin. Erythromycin resistant S. aureus were more frequently encountered. Concentrations of both macrolides at i MIC produced antibacterial effects. Post-antibiotic effects were more marked with spiramycin. After 3 h exposure to 4 × MIC of antibiotic the delay in regrowth of S. aureus was 5 h for erythromycin and 9 h for spiramycin. In a continuous cultivation model, spiramycin produced an inhibitory effect on S. aureus for 12 h whereas the effect of erythromycin was only apparent for 6 h. In conclusion, spiramycin is more active against staphylococci in vitro than would be expected by its modest MICs.

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