COMPARATIVE IN VITRO STUDIES OF FURAZIDIN AND NITROFURANTOIN ACTIVITIES AGAINST COMMON UROPATHOGENS INCLUDING MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT STRAINS OF E. COLI AND S. AUREUS

Urinary tract infections caused by wide range of pathogens including grain-negative and gram-positive bacteria as well as fungi are a severe public health problem. The predominant causative agent of both uncomplicated and complicated urinary tract infections is Escherichia coll. In an era of increasing bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents and a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains in community and hospital-acquiltd infections, the re-evaluation of older generations of antimicrobial agents, such as nitrofuran derivatives, seems to be a reasonable approach. The aim of the study was to evaluate furazidin activity against common uropathogens in comparison to nitrofurantoin and other selected antimicrobial agents, routinely used in the treatment of urinary tract infections. Furazidin exhibited lower MICs than nitrofurantoin when tested against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria including clinical MDR E. con and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The MICs for furazidin ranged from 4 to 64 mg/L for Enterobacteriaceae strains, from 2 to 4 mg/L for gram-positive cocci, and 0.5 mg/L for anaerobic bacteria. The MICs for nitrofurantoin ranged from 16 to 64 mg/L for Enterobacteriaceae strains, from 8 to 64 mg/L for gram-positive cocci, and 4 mg/L for anaerobic bacteria. In addition, both nitrofurans displayed better activity against the tested bacterial strains than ciprofloxacin, fosfornycin, trimethoprim and co-trimoxazole. Nitrofuran derivatives displayed higher antimicrobial activity than other antimicrobial agents regardless of bacteria species or resistance mechanism.