Isolation of Causative Microorganism and Antimicrobial 
Susceptibility Test in Impetigo Developed in 
the Past Four Years

Lee, Hyun Jeong; Lee, Sang Jung; Ha, Seog Jun; Oh, Chang Kyu; Kim, Jin Wou

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Pediatric Society 2000;43(5):632-637.
Published online May 15, 2000.

Isolation of Causative Microorganism and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test in Impetigo Developed in the Past Four Years

Hyun Jeong Lee¹, Sang Jung Lee¹, Seog Jun Ha², Chang Kyu Oh³, Jin Wou Kim¹

¹Departments of Dermatology, St. Paul`s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
²Medical Department activity, Second Division of Marine Corps, Kimpo, Korea
³Departments of Pediatrics, St. Paul`s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea

최근 4년간 발생한 농가진의 원인균 및 항생제 감수성에 대한 연구

이현정^¹^, 이상정^¹^, 하석준^²^, 오창규^³^, 김진우^¹

^¹가톨릭대학교 의과대학 성바오로병원 피부과
^²국군해병 ²사단 의무대
^³가톨릭대학교 의과대학 성바오로병원 소아과

Correspondence:
Jin Wou Kim, Email: jwkim@sph.cuk.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Recently, Staphylococcus aureus has been reported as the principal microorganism isolated from impetigo, showing variable degrees of antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this work was to study the causative organism of impetigo the their antimicrobial susceptibility developed in impetigo in the past four years.
Methods
: We performed bacterial cultures and antimicrobial susceptibility tests in 73 patients with impetigo who visited the Departments of Dermatology and Pediatrics at St. Paul's Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea in Seoul.
Results
: Of 73 patients, microorganisms were identified in 70 patients between May 1995 and August 1999. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 63(90%) patients. Antimicrobial susceptibility test for Staphylococcus aureus revealed low resistance to bactrim(0.0%), rifampicin(0.0%), van- comycin(3.2%), ceftriaxone(4.0%), imipenem(5.4%), ampicillin-clavulanic acid(6.1%), oxacillin(8.1%), cephazolin(9.1%), cephalothin(9.7%) and cefotaxime(10.8%). However, Staphylococcus aureus had high resistance to erythromycin(65.7%) and gentamicin(85.5%). Thirty-six(57.1%) strains of isolated Staphylococcus aureus showed resistance to more than one drug, including two strains(3.1%) resistant to more than 10 drugs.
Conclusion
: Staphylococcus aureus was the most common cause of impetigo developed in the pa- st four years. It was susceptible to most antimicrobial agents except erythromycin and gentamicin, and methicillin resistance was not strong in our results.

Key Words: Bacterial culture and sensitivity test, Impetigo, Staphylococcus aureus