Enterococcus faecium AND Enterococcus faecalis IN BLOOD OF NEWBORNS WITH SUSPECTED NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION

Abstract

Enterococci are Gram-positive cocci saprophyte of the human gastrointestinal tract, diners who act as opportunistic pathogens. They can cause infections in patients hospitalized for a long time or who have received multiple antibiotic therapy. Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are the most common species in human infections. To evaluate the possibility of rapid detection of these species and their occurrence in the blood of newborns with suspected nosocomial infection, blood samples were collected from 50 newborns with late infections, admitted to the Neonatal Care Unit of the University Hospital Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS-HU), from September 2010 to January 2011. The samples were subjected to conventional PCR and real time PCR (qPCR) to search for Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis, respectively. The PCR results were compared with respective blood cultures from 40 patients. No blood cultures were positive for Enterococci, however, eight blood samples were identified as genomic DNA of Enterococcus faecium by qPCR and 22 blood samples were detected as genomic DNA of Enterococcus faecalis by conventional PCR. These findings are important because of the clinical severity of the evaluated patients who were found positive by conventional PCR and not through routine microbiological methods.

Antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence factors of enterococci colonizing intestinal tract of Jordanian infants

“…In recent years, enterococci have emerged as important pathogens, particularly in immuoncompromised patients and intensive care units. They cause frequently more infections in patients hospitalized for a long time or who have received multiple antibiotic therapy [1,2]. E. faecalis and E. faecium are the most prevalent species cultured from human infections and are frequently associated with nosocomial infections worldwide [3,4,5].…”

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in enterococci isolates from infants: A review study

“…Enterococci are also among the frequent early colonizers in the intestine of breastfed infants [1]. E.faecalis and E. faecium are the most prevalent species cultured from human infections and are increasing to become associated with nosocomial infections [2][3]. The emergence of vancomycin-resistance enterococci (VRE) during recent years has seriously affected the treatment and infection control of these organisms.…”

“…An increase in the prevalence of E.faecium has been recently observed to occur among neonatal patients in ICUs of many countries. This shift is likely to be explained in part by the rapid emergence of VRE [3][4]. Enterococci are intrinsically resistance to many antibiotics, including the following agents: semisynthetic penicillins such as oxacillin, cephalosporins of all classes, monobactams and polymyxins.…”

Comparison of five methods of extraction of Staphylococcus aureus DNA for molecular detection by PCR

“…Blood culture methods are considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of sepsis. However, they have low sensitivity and their turnaround time for results is between 48 and 72h, while PCR has been shown to provide faster turnaround times and have high specificity 10 .…”