The type III secretion system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important virulence factor contributing to the cytotoxicity and the invasion process of this microorganism. The current study aimed to determine the presence of the exoU +/ exoS + genotype in P . aeruginosa clinical isolates. The presence of exoS , exoT , exoU and exoY was determined in 189 P . aeruginosa by PCR, and the presence/absence of exoU was analysed according to source infection, clonal relationships, biofilm formation, motility and antimicrobial susceptibility. The gyrA , parC , oprD , efflux pump regulators and β-lactamases genes were also analysed by PCR/sequencing. The exoS , exoT and exoY genes were found in 100% of the isolates. Meanwhile, exoU was present in 43/189 (22.8%) of the isolates, being significantly associated with multidrug resistance, extensively drug resistance as well as with higher level quinolone resistance. However, the presence of β-lactamases, mutations in gyrA and parC , and relevant modifications in efflux pumps and OprD were not significantly associated with exoU + isolates. MLST analysis of a subset of 25 isolates showed 8 different STs displaying the exoU +/ exoS + genotype. The MDR basis of the exoU + isolates remain to be elucidated. Furthermore, the clinical implications and spread of exoU +/ exoS + P . aeruginosa isolates need to be established.

BackgroundIn contrast with other countries in Latin America, Peru had been notoriously spared by the global dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp), until recently. Even though, isolated cases of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae had been reported since 2013, it was not until 2016 that the first outbreak of NDM- producing K. pneumoniae was described in Peru. By 2017, rapid emergence of CR-Kp took place in Hospital Cayetano Heredia (HCH), a tertiary care hospital in Lima. Here, we provide a description of clinical, microbiological and molecular characteristics of CR-Kp isolates recovered at HCH.MethodsRetrospective review of all CR-Kp clinical isolates recovered at HCH until December 2017. Antibiotic susceptibility data were obtained during routine care (Vitek or disc diffusion) and was assessed using CLSI breakpoints. DNA extraction was performed by heat shock, and PCR was performed to assess carriage of blaNDM gene. String test was performed to detect hypermucoviscosity.ResultsThe first case of CR-Kp in HCH dated from July 2015. Since then, a total of 69 CR-Kp clinical isolates, from 60 patients have been recovered until December 2017. A significant increase in the number of cases was observed during 2017 (Figure 1). The average age of patients was 55. Urinary, and respiratory sources of infection or colonization were the most common ones (35% and 30%, respectively), followed by blood stream (17%) and intraabdominal (10%) infections. Isolate recovery and DNA extraction was achieved in 40 cases. Of these, 15 (38%) had a positive PCR for blaNDM carbapenemase gene (Figure 2). Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that amikacin was the most effective antimicrobial with the rest of antimicrobials having extremely high rates of resistance (Figure 3). String test was positive in two of these isolates, suggesting that hypervirulent CR-KP might be emerging in this region.ConclusionAn epidemic of CR-Kp has established in our hospital, representing the first one reported in Peru. The different mechanisms of carbapenem resistance found suggest a polyclonal expansion. Amikacin remains the only active antimicrobial within the routinely tested antibiotics, highlighting the need to add other antimicrobials to the routine panel. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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Correct processing of blood cultures may impact individual patient management, antibiotic stewardship, and scaling up of antimicrobial resistance surveillance. To assess the quality of blood culture processing, we conducted four assessments at 16 public hospitals across different regions of Peru. We assessed the following standardized quality indicators: 1) positivity and contamination rates, 2) compliance with recommended number of bottles/sets and volume of blood sampled, 3) blood culture utilization, and 4) possible barriers for compliance with recommendations. Suboptimal performance was found, with a median contamination rate of 4.2% (range 0–15.1%), with only one third of the participating hospitals meeting the target value of < 3%; and a median positivity rate of 4.9% (range 1–8.1%), with only 6 out of the 15 surveilled hospitals meeting the target of 6–12%. None of the assessed hospitals met both targets. The median frequency of solitary blood cultures was 71.9% and only 8.9% (N = 59) of the surveyed adult bottles met the target blood volume of 8 – 12 mL, whereas 90.5% (N = 602) were underfilled. A high frequency of missed opportunities for ordering blood cultures was found (30.1%, 95/316) among patients with clinical indications for blood culture sampling. This multicenter study demonstrates important shortcomings in the quality of blood culture processing in public hospitals of Peru. It provides a national benchmark of blood culture utilization and quality indicators that can be used to monitor future quality improvement studies and diagnostic stewardship policies.