Oral viridans streptococci are recognized as one of the etiological agents of a variety of infectious diseases such as dental caries and infective endocarditis. Although antimicrobial susceptibility tests for these fastidious bacterial species are now established and standardized, a comparison between the broth microdilution and broth macrodilution tests has not previously been performed. This comparison was performed in the present study using the tests adopted by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and seven clinical isolates of oral viridans streptococcal strains. A modified broth macrodilution susceptibility test method was also included in this analysis, in which the media was not supplemented with horse blood. The susceptibility interpretation category agreements were measured at 83% (broth microdilution versus broth macrodilution) and 71% (broth microdilution versus modified broth macrodilution). The interpretation category agreement between the broth macrodilution and modified broth macrodilution tests was also 83%. These data indicate that the interpretation of antibiotic susceptibility test results for oral viridans streptococci are influenced by the methods used.

It has been reported that the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of viridans streptococci vary according to geographical region. Although several studies on the antibiotic resistance of viridans streptococci in foreign countries have been reported, little is known about the distribution of resistance among viridans streptococci in Korea. In this study, 88 isolates of viridans streptococci from Korean students' dental plaque were identified as 12 different species. The susceptibility of these isolates to 8 antibiotics was investigated. The in vitro antibiotic activity of penicillin G, ampicillin, vancomycin, streptomycin, gentamicin, erythromycin, amoxicillin, and tetracycline was measured by the broth microdilution method. The range of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC), MIC50, MIC90, and the percentage of the susceptible isolates were determined. Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus salivarius were susceptible to the 8 antibiotics. Isolates with resistance to vancomycin, streptomycin, and amoxicillin were not found. The overall resistance rates of the 88 isolates to penicillin G, ampicillin, gentamicin, erythromycin, and tetracycline were 12.5%, 62.5%, 62.5%, 26.1%, and 26.1%, respectively.