High rates of intestinal colonisation with fluoroquinolone-resistant ESBL-harbouring Enterobacteriaceae in hospitalised patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhoea

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate the intestinal carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-harbouring Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-EN) and associated fluoroquinolone resistance (FQ-R) in 120 hospitalised patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, and to investigate a correlation between Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection and intestinal colonisation with ESBL-EN in these patients. Stool samples were screened for C. difficile infection by toxin A/B enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and for the presence of enterobacterial isolates producing β-lactamases by plating on β-lactamase screening (BLSE) agar. Recovered isolates were confirmed pheno- and genotypically for the presence of ESBL genes (bla CTX-M, bla TEM, bla SHV) by the double-disc synergy test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing, and tested for the presence of topoisomerase mutations (gyrA, parC) and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants [qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qepA, aac(6')-Ib-cr] by PCR sequencing. ESBL-EN were detected in 44/120 (37 %) stool samples. C. difficile-infected patients showed a significantly higher frequency of intestinal colonisation with ESBL-EN compared to C. difficile non-infected patients (62 % vs. 31 %, p = 0.008). Of the 73 ESBL-EN recovered, 46 (63 %) showed high-level FQ-R [ciprofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥32 mg/L]. The largest group consisted of 21 bla CTX-M-15-harbouring Enterobacteriaceae (ciprofloxacin MIC ≥64 mg/L) with multiple topoisomerase mutations in gyrA and parC, in combination with co-carriage of aac(6')-Ib-cr. Most of them were Escherichia coli isolates belonging to sequence types ST131 and ST410. We found remarkably high rates of intestinal colonisation with high-level FQ-R ESBL-EN in hospitalised patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, especially among C. difficile-infected patients. These data underscore the need for stringent infection control to contain this potentially infectious and multidrug-resistant reservoir.

The co-transfer of plasmid-borne colistin-resistant genes mcr-1 and mcr-3.5, the carbapenemase gene blaNDM-5 and the 16S methylase gene rmtB from Escherichia coli

“…ST410 E . coli has a worldwide distribution 22–24 and a bla OXA-181 -carrying ST410 E . coli , strain WCHEC14828, has been identified in the same hospital in 2014 15 .…”

Diverse bacterial species contribute to antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and gastrointestinal damage

“…E. cloacae is associated with a variety of opportunistic infections (14), and has been isolated from patients with AAD (15,16), with an increase in E. cloacae intestinal colonisation being associated with antimicrobial treatment (14). Although the isolate R. aquatilis is a rare member of the Enterobacteriaceae which has been associated with a variety of opportunistic infections, including gastroenteritis (18).…”

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase, plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamase, fluoroquinolone resistance, and decreased susceptibility to carbapenems in Enterobacteriaceae: fecal carriage rates and associated risk factors in the community of Northern Cyprus

“…These antibiotics are also one of the treatment options for ESBL-positive infections [13]. However, FQ resistance is reported at high rates among ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) species [14].…”