Quantifying the clinical virulence of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing carbapenemase Klebsiella pneumoniae with a Galleria mellonellamodel and a pilot study to translate to patient outcomes

Previous studies may have overestimated morbidity and mortality due to Klebsiella pneumoniae producing carbapenemase (KPC) Klebsiella pneumoniae infections because of difficulties in modeling patient comorbidities. This pilot study sought to evaluate KPC virulence by combining clinical and Galleria...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBMC infectious diseases Vol. 14; no. 1
Main Authors McLaughlin, Milena M, Advincula, M Renee, Malczynski, Michael, Barajas, Grace, Qi, Chao, Scheetz, Marc H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published BioMed Central Ltd 15.01.2014
Subjects
Bacterial pneumonia
Care and treatment
Comorbidity
Genetic aspects
Mortality
Patient outcomes
Pneumonia
Risk factors
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Summary:Previous studies may have overestimated morbidity and mortality due to Klebsiella pneumoniae producing carbapenemase (KPC) Klebsiella pneumoniae infections because of difficulties in modeling patient comorbidities. This pilot study sought to evaluate KPC virulence by combining clinical and Galleria mellonella models in patients with K. pneumoniae blood stream infections (BSIs). G. mellonella were inoculated using KPC(+) and KPC(-) isolates from these patients. Extent and rapidity of insect mortality was analyzed. Patients were stratified by KPC BSI status. Clinical outcomes of mortality and length of stay post-infection for survivors (LOS) were analyzed. Median virulence scores calculated from the insect studies were imputed in the clinical model. The in-vivo model revealed greater mortality in KPC(-) isolates (p < 0.001). Fifteen patients with KPC(+) BSI were matched with 60 patients with KPC(-) BSI. Hospital mortality was greater in the KPC(+) group versus the KPC(-) group (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.00 - 14.34). LOS was longer in the KPC(+) group (p < 0.01). Conversely the virulence score attenuated the association between KPC(+) status and mortality and LOS in the final translational models. KPC(+) status was associated with decreased virulence in GM. Opposite findings were observed in patients. This pilot study demonstrates that measured virulence from GM may differ from human estimates of virulence.
ISSN:1471-2334
1471-2334
DOI:10.1186/1471-2334-14-31