Prevalence and characteristics of ertapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in a Taiwanese university hospital

Microb Drug Resist. 2011 Jun;17(2):259-66. doi: 10.1089/mdr.2010.0115. Epub 2011 Feb 25.

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of ertapenem-resistant (ETP-R) Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates at a Taiwanese hospital. The disk-diffusion tests revealed that the rate of ertapenem resistance among all isolates collected in 2008 was 13.5%, and the resistance rate among bloodstream isolates increased from 0% to 13.6% between 2001 and 2008. Eighty-two nonduplicate ETP-R isolates collected in 2008 were examined. Seventy-four (90.2%) isolates of them had extended-spectrum β-lactamases (CTX-M- and SHV-type), AmpC enzymes (DHA-1 and CMY-2), and IMP-8 metallo-β-lactamase alone or in combination, and an extremely high prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistance (95.1%) and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants (90.2%) were also observed. Eighteen ETP-R but imipenem-susceptible isolates were selected and compared with 18 imipenem-nonsusceptible isolates collected before 2008. Sequence analyses revealed genetic disruptions of OmpK36 in 11 imipenem-nonsusceptible and 6 imipenem-susceptible isolates, respectively, and OmpK35 disruptions in 10 isolates for both groups. For the isolates with intact ompK36, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggests decreased expression of OmpK36 in 5 of 7 imipenem-nonsusceptible isolates and 3 of 12 imipenem-susceptible isolates. In conclusion, the increasing prevalence of ertapenem resistance that was predominantly attributed to noncarbapenemase-mediated resistance mechanisms in K. pneumoniae is becoming a serious treat to patients in Taiwan.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Typing Techniques
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Genotype
  • Hospitals, University
  • Humans
  • Klebsiella Infections / blood
  • Klebsiella Infections / drug therapy
  • Klebsiella Infections / epidemiology
  • Klebsiella Infections / microbiology*
  • Klebsiella Infections / transmission
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / classification
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / drug effects
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / genetics*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / isolation & purification*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Mutation
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Plasmids / metabolism
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Prevalence
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Taiwan
  • beta-Lactam Resistance / drug effects
  • beta-Lactam Resistance / genetics*
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics
  • beta-Lactamases / metabolism

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • beta-Lactamases