The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) from 3 tertiary-care Korean university hospitals between 2017 and 2018. Non-duplicated clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae showing resistance to any carbapenem agents were collected prospectively from 3 tertiary university hospitals between 2017 and 2018. The presence of carbapenemase genes was detected by multiplex PCR and sequencing for blaKPC, blaVIM, blaNDM, blaIMP, blaOXA, and blaGES was performed. Among the 690 potential carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) isolates, 66.8% (N = 461) were CPE. The species distribution of CPE was as follows: Klebsiella pneumoniae was most common (75.9%), followed by Escherichia coli (15.0%), Citrobacter freundii (4.6%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.6%), Klebsiella. aerogenes (0.7%), and Klebsiella. oxytoca (0.4%). All 11 CPE genes were detected, particularly K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-2 (87.6%), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-1 (7.4%), NDM-5 (1.7%), KPC-3 (1.3%), oxacillinase (OXA)-232 (1.1%), and OXA-181 (1.1%). Six isolates produced 2 or 3 carbapenemases. The majority of the carbapenemase-producing C. freundii tested positive for NDM-1. We confirmed a high proportion of CPE among the CRE isolates with a high prevalence of KCP-2-producing K. pneumoniae and E. coli. Therefore, there is a need for undertaking continuous surveillance to monitor the prevalence of CPE.
Keywords: carbapenem; carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae; resistance.