Abstract

AbstractTo compare the in vitro susceptibility of mucoid and nonmucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa to gentamicin, 144 isolates of both mucoid and nonmucoid P aeruginosa were cultured from throat swab and sputum specimens from 29 patients with diagnosed cystic fibrosis. Muid forms of P aeruginosa from throat swab cultures were all susceptible to gentamicin, whereas only 85.5% of the mucoid strains from sputum cultures were susceptible. Nonmucoid strains from throat swab and sputum cultures were 85.1 % and 77.8% susceptible, respectively. Since the differences in susceptibility between the four groups of organisms were not significant (P <0.05), it was concluded that these data show no real differences in susceptibility to gentamicin between the mucoid and nonmucoid strains.