Imipenem Resistance and BLAIMP Gene among Hospital Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at University Hospital in Egypt

Background: Imipenem (IMP) is considered the last resort for treatment of infections caused by resistant Gram negative bacteria in our setting. However, in recent times, multi-drug resistant strains of P. aeruginosa which are also imipenem (IMP) resistant have been isolated in our hospital. This stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of infection in developing countries Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 42 - 47
Main Author Fatma A. Amer,1 Eman M. El-Behedy,1 Heba A. Mohtady,1 Hala E. Zanfaly,2 Dalal E. M. Soud,2 Tarek M. El-Behedy,3 Eman El-Gendy.3
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 01.08.2007
Subjects
blaIMP gene
imipenem
metallo-β-lactamases
P. aeruginosa
resistance
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Summary:Background: Imipenem (IMP) is considered the last resort for treatment of infections caused by resistant Gram negative bacteria in our setting. However, in recent times, multi-drug resistant strains of P. aeruginosa which are also imipenem (IMP) resistant have been isolated in our hospital. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of IMP resistance among P. aeruginosa strains isolated in our setting as well as assess for the presence of blaIMP gene among these IMP-resistant strains. Methods: The study was conducted at the Zagazig University Hospital, Egypt between February 2003-January 2004. All P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients with nosocomial infections were studied. Disk diffusion method was used to determine susceptibility to IMP and other antimicrobials. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for IMP was determined by broth microdilution method and phenotypic screening for metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) was by E-test. Carriage of the blaIMP gene was detected by PCR. Results: Of the 261 P. aeruginosa strains studies 31 (11.9%), were IMP resistant, mostly from Intensive Care Unit patients. The IMP MIC range for resistant isolates was 8 - >128 µg/ml (MIC50:16 µg/ml and MIC90:32 µg/ml). These IMP-resistant strains were also resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents. Ten IMP-resistant strains were MBL-positive with only 8 demonstrating carriage of the blaIMP gene Conclusions: Our findings indicate the emergence of IMP-resistant Pseudomonas isolates in our locality and represents the first reported detection of blaIMP gene from Egyptian isolates of P. aeruginosa.
ISSN:1972-2680