New Mechanisms of Bacterial Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents

Sooner or later bacteria develop resistance to virtually any antimicrobial agent. Resistance has many consequences. The patient infected with a drug-resistant as opposed to a drug-sensitive organism is more likely to require hospitalization and have a longer hospital stay and has an increased risk of death.¹ Resistance also compels the use of more toxic or more expensive alternative drugs.² The unrecognized cost of antibiotic resistance in the United States has been estimated as at least $100 million annually.³ Resistance thus affects the antibiotic options available to every practitioner and is no less a problem in the developing world.⁴ The evaluation . . .