Analysis of minimum inhibitory concentrations of azithromycin, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin for Neisseria gonorrhoeae from antimicrobial resistance sentinel surveillance, Germany, 2014 to 2023
Sentinel surveillance study reveals rising antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentrations in Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates, highlighting emerging drug resistance in screened networks.
Key Points
Examine temporal trends in Neisseria gonorrhoeae susceptibility to azithromycin, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin to evaluate emerging resistance patterns and sexual network dynamics.
Analyzed 5,421 Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates gathered via the German Go-Surv-AMR sentinel surveillance program between 2014 and 2023, primarily from male patients (n = 4,704) and urethral sites (n = 4,060).
Determined minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for azithromycin, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin using E-test phenotypic susceptibility assays.
Evaluated yearly MIC distributions using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests and modelled temporal trends across demographic and specimen strata by fitting beta distributions to log-transformed MIC values.
Median azithromycin MIC nearly quadrupled from 0.12 mg/L to 0.45 mg/L between 2016 and 2023 in both male and female isolates.
Median ceftriaxone MIC stayed low overall at ≤ 0.009 mg/L, but rose significantly during 2022–2023 among males, notably in extragenital screening specimens.
Median ciprofloxacin MIC increased from 0.003 mg/L to 0.0057 mg/L, showing the sharpest upward trend in male extragenital screening isolates.