Ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli from bacteraemias in England; increasingly prevalent and mostly from men.

OBJECTIVES To assess ciprofloxacin resistance among Escherichia coli isolates from bacteraemia patients in England in relation to age, sex and Region. METHODS Routine susceptibility data for bacteraemia isolates were collected from over 90% of hospitals in England. RESULTS During 1995-2001, the prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance trebled, from 2.1% to 6.5%. Isolates from men were more frequently resistant than those from women, possibly because infections in men more often involve nosocomial strains. Resistance was rare (<1.5%) in isolates from patients aged <1 year; among older patients, resistance was unrelated to age in isolates from women, but peaked in the 15-44 age group for men. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance in E. coli from bacteraemia is strongly associated with sex and, to a lesser extent, age.