Variation of the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Burkholderia cepacia complex clonal isolates obtained from chronically infected cystic fibrosis patients: a five-year survey in the major Portuguese treatment center

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases Vol. 27; no. 11; pp. 1101 - 1111
• Main Authors: Leitão, J. H., Sousa, S. A., Cunha, M. V., Salgado, M. J., Melo-Cristino, J., Barreto, M. C., Sá-Correia, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.11.2008; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Airway management; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotics; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Burkholderia cepacia; Burkholderia cepacia complex - drug effects; Burkholderia cepacia complex - isolation & purification; Burkholderia Infections - microbiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Cystic fibrosis; Cystic Fibrosis - complications; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Errors of metabolism; Humans; Infant; Infections; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Medical Microbiology; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Miscellaneous hereditary metabolic disorders; Patients; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pneumonia - microbiology; Portugal; Sputum - microbiology; Portugal; Cystic Fibrosis Patient; Cystic Fibrosis; Minimal Inhibitory Concentration; Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern; Ceftazidime; Human; Microbiology; Drug susceptibility test; Respiratory disease; Metabolic diseases; Cystic fibrosis; Genetic disease; Infection; Chronic; Survey; Treatment; Burkholderia cepacia; Bacteria; Digestive diseases; Antibacterial agent; Pancreatic disease
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-008-0552-0

The treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients chronically infected with Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) bacteria requires extensive and aggressive antibiotics therapy, exposing these bacteria to prolonged antibiotics-selective pressure. In the present study, we have compared the susceptibility patterns to 13 antimicrobials of 94 Bcc isolates obtained from 15 Portuguese CF patients in the course of chronic infection during a five-year survey. These isolates were previously genotyped and represent 11 different strains of the species B. cenocepacia (subgroups A and B), B. cepacia , B. multivorans , and B. stabilis . The results are consistent with the notion that CF Bcc isolates are resistant to the most clinically relevant antimicrobials and suggest an uneven distribution of resistance rates among the different species, with B. cenocepacia subgroup A isolates being the most resistant. Phenotypic variants exhibiting differences in the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were obtained from the sputum samples of clinically deteriorated CF patients during chronic lung infection. The isolation of resistant variants coincided with periods of pulmonary exacerbation and antibiotics therapy.