Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns and Molecular Epidemiology of Metallo-β-Lactamase Producing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Strains Isolated From Burn Patients.

BACKGROUND: Failure in the treatment of burn patients infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa could happen as a result of the acquisition of antibiotic resistance, including carbapenems. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, isolated from burn patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During a 12 month period, in this cross-sectional study, two hundred seventy strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from the burn patients in Ghotbeddin Burn Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Screening for the carbapenem resistance in the isolates was carried out by the E test method. Sensitivity patterns of metallo-β-lactamase (MβLs) producing strains of pseudomonas to eleven antibiotics were determined by the mentioned method. The epidemiological associations of these strains were determined by Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS: Of the 270 strains, 60 (22.2%) were resistant to imipenem and meropenem, classified as MβLs producing. MβLs producing strains of pseudomonas were completely resistant to five tested antibiotics while their sensitivities to the three most effective antibiotics including ceftazidime, amikacin and ciprofloxacin were 23.4%, 6.7 % and 1.7%, respectively. In PFGE, 37 patterns from the genome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were observed. Majority of the strains (43; 71.6%) exhibited more than 80% similarity, based on the drawn dendrogram. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, none of the tested antibiotics is safe to prescribe. As PFGE revealed, a limited number of Pseudomonas aeruginosa types are predominant in the hospitals which infect the burn patients

Burn Patients Infected With Metallo-Beta-Lactamase-Producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Multidrug-Resistant Strains

Background: Metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the burn patients is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and remains a serious health concern among the clinicians. Objectives: The aim of this study was to detect MBL-producing P. aeruginosa in burn patients and determine multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains, and respective resistance patterns. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 270 strains of P. aeruginosa were isolated from the burn patients referred to Ghotbeddin Burn Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Among them, 55 MBL-producing P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from 55 patients hospitalized in burn unit. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and MBLs were determined by the E-test method. Results: Of the 55 burn cases, 29 (53%) were females and 26 (47%) males. Injured burn patients’ ages ranged from 16 to 87 years, with maximum number of cases in the age group of 16 to 36 years (n, 40; 72.7%). Overall, 32 cases were accidental (60%), and 22 were suicidal burns (40%). Of the 55 burn patients, 17 cases were expired (30%). All deaths were due to chemical exposures. In antibiotic susceptibility testing by E-test method, ceftazidime was the most effective one and 35 isolates (63.5%) were resistant to all the 11 tested antibiotics. Conclusions: Routine microbiological surveillance and careful in vitro testing of antibiotics prior to prescription and strict adherence to hospital antibiotic policy may help to prevent, treat, and control MDR and pandrug-resistant (PDR) P. aeruginosa strains in burn units

Molecular Epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Burn Patients

Background & aim: Because of emerging multi-drug resistance (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, treatment of burn patients infected by this bacterium is difficult. The aim of this study was to detect antimicrobial profile and molecular epidemiology of metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) producer strains. Methods: In this cross-sectional investigation 270 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were collected from the burn patients. Carbapenem sresistance strains were detected by phenotypic E-test method. Susceptibility profiles of metallo-β-lactamase (MβL) enzyme producing isolates of this bacterium to 11 antimicrobial drug were determined by disc diffusion method according Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The genetic correlations between isolates were determined by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) method. Results: Among 270 P. aeruginosa isolates, 60 (22.2%) strains showed resistant to meropenem (MEM) and imipenem (IMI) and were considered as metallo-β-lactamase positive. All metallo-β-lactamase positive isolates were resistant to five tested antimcrobial while their sensitivities to the three best effective antibiotics including ciprofloxacin, amikacin and ceftazidime were 1.7%, 6.7 % and 23.3%, respectively. Majority of the isolates (71.6%) showed more than 80% similarity based on the drawn dendrogram. Conclusion: Our results showed, the tested antimicrobials are not safe to prescribe for burn patients. According PFGE pulsotypes, a limited number of P.aeruginosa types are common in the hospital burn unit which infect the patients hospitalized in this ward