Objectives. Slowly growing mycobacteria (SGM) are prevalent worldwide and cause an extensive spectrum of diseases. Methods.\nIn this study, the antimicrobial susceptibility of 33 reference strains of SGM to 19 antimicrobial agents was tested using a modified\nmicrodilutionmethod. Results. Cefmetazole (32/33) and azithromycin (32/33) exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity, and dapsone\n(9/33) exhibited the lowest activity against the tested strains.Cefoxitin (30/33), cefoperazone (28/33), and cefepime (28/33)were\neffective against a high proportion of strains, and macrolides were also highly effective as well as offering the benefit of convenient\noral administration to patients. Linezolid (27/33), meropenem (26/33), sulfamethoxazole (26/33), and tigecycline (25/33) showed\nthe highest activity; clofazimine (20/33) and doxycycline (18/33) showed intermediate activity; and rifapentine (13/33), rifabutin\n(13/33), and minocycline (11/33) showed low antimicrobial activity, closely followed by thioacetazone (10/33) and pasiniazid\n(10/33), against the tested organisms. According to their susceptibility profiles, the slowly growing species Mycobacterium avium\nand Mycobacterium simiae were the least susceptible to the tested drugs, whereas Mycobacterium intracellulare, Mycobacterium\nasiaticum,Mycobacterium scrofulaceum,Mycobacterium szulgai,Mycobacterium branderi, and Mycobacterium holsaticum were the\nmost susceptible. Conclusions. In summary, cephalosporins and macrolides, particularly cefmetazole, azithromycin, clarithromycin,\nand roxithromycin, showed good antimicrobial activity against the reference strains of SGM.
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