Evaluation of Multidrug-Resistant P. aeruginosa in Healthcare Facility Water Systems

Abstract

According to the WHO, P. aeruginosa is one of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that represent the biggest threat to public health. The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa in the water systems of various healthcare facilities over the course of nine years. A total of 4500 tap water system samples were taken from seventeen healthcare facilities. The culture method was used to detect P. aeruginosa, and the isolates were then tested for antibiotic resistance using the standardised disc diffusion method. Eleven antibiotics from five different classes were tested. P. aeruginosa was found to have contaminated 2.07% (no. 93) of the water samples. The majority of positive samples came from the dental units (30.11%) and the ward kitchens (23.66%). Considering the total isolates, 56.99% (no. 3) were resistant to at least one of the antibiotics tested. A total of 71.43% of P. aeruginosa isolated from water emerging from dental unit handpieces was antibiotic-resistant, with 45% of it resistant to ≥3 classes of antibiotics. Out of the total isolates, 19.35% showed resistance to carbapenems. It would be advisable to systematically screen tap water for opportunistic micro-organisms such as P. aeruginosa, as many countries already do, including this in the Water Safety Plan.

Assessment of antimicrobial resistance, biofilm formation, and surface modification potential in hospital strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae

“…The characterization of the antimicrobial susceptibility of P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae environmental strains was performed by testing antibiotics of clinical relevance. Surprisingly, the tested strains showed susceptibility to the majority of the antibiotics, which differs from the results reported in other studies [ 14 , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] ]. In this context, it is plausible to hypothesize that the points of access to drinking water within the hospital environment, such as taps, showers, and sinks, could serve as critical entry points for external environmental bacteria introduction into the hospital environment.…”

Dental unit water content and antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas species: a case study

“…Regarding the resistance against one or more antibiotics, we found several microorganisms resistant to different antibiotics, mainly to colistin and piperacillin, and the multidrug resistance was confirmed by other studies [12,13].…”

“…Cristina et al [12], observed that, out of the 4,500 water samples taken in various healthcare facilities, 30.11% of P. aeruginosa isolates came from DUs and 0.40% from inlet water samples. We also observed contamination by these microorganisms in the input water.…”

“…In the literature, there are many studies on the contamination of dental units by P. aeruginosa [8][9][10][11], but only a few of them studied the possible presence of antibiotic resistant P. aeruginosa in the DUWLs [12][13][14]. The aim of this work is to monitor the presence of P. aeruginosa and Pseudomonas spp.…”

Hygieneprobleme in der Radiologie und ihre Prävention

“…Hota et al konnten in ihren Untersuchungen zeigen, dass sich beim Benutzen des Waschbeckens für die Händewaschung der Inhalt aus den Abflüssen mindestens 1 m um das Waschbecken herum ausbreitete [16]. Besonders in Abwasser-ableitenden Systemen wie Waschbecken und Siphons wurden bei Untersuchungen von Ausbrüchen bakterielle Kontaminationen und Biofilmbildung vor allem mit Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa und anderen Non-Fermentern nachgewiesen [16,17,18,19].…”