Point-of-care antibiotic susceptibility testing for gonorrhoea: improving therapeutic options and sparing the use of cephalosporins

• Published in: Sexually transmitted infections Vol. 86; no. 6; pp. 445 - 446
• Main Authors: Sadiq, S T, Dave, J, Butcher, P D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.11.2010; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; antibiotic resistance; antibiotic sensitivy; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Cephalosporins - therapeutic use; Collaboration; diagnosis; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - genetics; fluoroquinolone; Genes; Gonorrhea; Gonorrhea - drug therapy; gonorrhoea; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests - methods; Mutation; Mutation - genetics; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Penicillin; Point-of-Care Systems; point-of-care technology; Surveillance; ANTIBIOTIC SENSITIVY; DIAGNOSIS; GONORRHOEA; ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
• ISSN: 1368-4973; 1472-3263; 1472-3263
• DOI: 10.1136/sti.2010.044230

Antimicrobial therapy for Neiserria gonorrhoeae is a major public health concern with high rates of resistance to penicillin, tetracycline and fluoroquinolones detected in England and Wales in the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programme (GRASP) (GRASP 2008 Report: Trends in Antimicrobial Resistant Gonorrhoea. Known chromosomal mutations associated with penicillin resistance include those altering the structure and function of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and efflux pump activity genes, including penA, ponA, penB, mtrR regulator and possibly penC. 3-5 The other classic resistance mechanism involves TEM-1 type penicillinase production, encoded by the plasmid mediated blaTEM-1 gene.