Comparación de susceptibilidad de especies de Shigella a antimicrobianos de uso habitual en el Hospital Regional de Temuco, Chile 1990-2001

background: the permanent surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility of shigella sp in the temuco regional hospital, allowed us to define the empirical use of antimicrobials in dysenteric syndrome. aim: to study antimicrobial susceptibility of shigella strains collected from 1997 to may 2001 and compare the results with those reported in 1990. material and methods: two hundred and seventeen shigella strains, coming from stool cultures of pediatric patients, were studied. results: in the period 1989-1990 shigella flexneri was the main species isolated (83%) whereas, in the period 1997-2001, shigella sonnei (55.8%) predominated. in the second period, an increase of antimicrobial resistance, as compared with the period 1989-1990, was observed for ampicillin (74.5 and 42% respectively), for cotrimoxazol (57.5 and 45% respectively) and tetracycline (64 and 8% respectively). chloramphenicol resistance increased from 0 to 57.5%. in the second period no resistance to ciprofloxacin was detected. there was simultaneous resistance to four drugs in 30% of the strains, predominating multiresistance in s flexneri (52.1%). conclusions: in the two periods studied, a significant increase was detected in the resistance of shigella strains to antimicrobials (rev méd chile 2002; 130: 1021-6).