Acquisition of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in intensive care units in Thailand.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors for extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-EK) acquisition among patients staying in medical and surgical Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Northern Thailand. Rectal swabs were collected from 206 ICU patients upon admission and discharge. Overall, the ESBL-EK acquisition rate among patients during ICU stay was 29.6%. Acquisition rate was significantly higher for K. pneumoniae (20.9%) than that of E. coli (12.1%) (p = 0.024). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the use of third generation cephalosporin (p = 0.008) as a risk factor for ESBL-EK acquisition. Sixty-eight ESBL-EK isolates (25 E. coli and 43 K. pneumoniae) were recovered. The majority of ESBL-EK isolates (≥88%) were resistant to ceftazidime, cefepime and aztreonam. Fifty-two acquired ESBL-EK isolates (76.5%) were positive for blaCTX-M and 4 K. pneumoniae isolates simultaneously carried blaNDM-1. Our results reveal that ICU patients could acquire ESBL-EK during hospitalization and the use of third generation cephalosporin should be strictly controlled to prevent the acquisition of ESBL-EK among ICU patients.

Risk Factors for Gastrointestinal Colonization and Acquisition of Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria among Patients in Intensive Care Units in Thailand.

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for colonization and acquisition of carbapenem-resistant (CR) Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) among patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in two tertiary care hospitals in northern Thailand. Screening of rectal swab specimens for CR-GNB was performed on patients at ICU admission and discharge. The phenotypes and genotypes of all isolates were determined. Risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The overall carriage rate of CR-GNB at admission was 11.6% (32/275), with the most predominant species carried being Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 15), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 9). The risk factor for CR-GNB colonization was hospitalization within the previous 6 months (P = 0.002). During the ICU stay, the rate of CR-GNB acquisition was 25.2% (52/206), with the most predominant species carried being A. baumannii (n = 28) and K. pneumoniae (n = 13). Risk factors associated with CR-GNB acquisition were the use of an enteral feeding tube (P = 0.008) and administration of third-generation cephalosporins (P = 0.032) and carbapenems (P = 0.045). The most common carbapenemase genes in A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae were blaOXA-23/51 and blaNDM, respectively. Patient-to-patient transmission was demonstrated in three cases, resulting in the acquisition of CR A. baumannii (2 cases) and K. pneumoniae (1 case) isolates from other patients who were admitted during the same period of time. This is the first Indochinese study screening patients, examining patients for the carriage of CR-GNB, and further demonstrating the transfer of CR-GNB isolates in ICUs. Our study suggests that effective infection control measures are required to limit the spread of CR-GNB within hospitals.

Presence and characterization of blaNDM-1-positive carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae from outpatients in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Presently, community-associated carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) remains largely unknown and require public attention. This study aimed to investigate the presence of CPE from outpatients in Thailand. METHODS: Non-duplicate stool (n = 886) and urine (n = 289) samples were collected from outpatients with diarrhea and urinary tract infection, respectively. Demographic data and characteristics of patients were collected. Isolation of CPE was performed by plating enrichment culture on agar supplemented with meropenem. Carbapenemase genes were screened by PCR and sequencing. CPE isolates were phenotypically and genotypically characterized. RESULTS: Fifteen samples (1.3%, 14 stool and 1 urine) yielded blaNDM-1-positive carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CPKP). Additional resistance to colistin and tigecycline was observed in 53.3% and 46.7% of isolates, respectively. Age >60 years was identified as a risk factor for patients with CPKP (P < 0.001, adjusted odds ratio = 11.500, 95% confidence interval = 3.223-41.034). Pulsed field gel electrophoresis revealed genetic diversity of CPKP isolates; however, clonal spread has been observed. ST70 (n = 4) was common, followed by ST147 (n = 3). blaNDM-1 from all isolates were transferable and mainly resided on IncA/C plasmid (80%). All blaNDM-1 plasmids remained stable in bacterial host for at least 10 days in antibiotic-free environments, regardless of replicon types. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the prevalence of CPE among outpatients in Thailand remains low and the spread of blaNDM-1-positive CPKP may be driven by IncA/C plasmid. Our results emphasize the need for a large-scale surveillance study to limit further spread of CPE in community.

Risk Factors for Extended-Spectrum ß-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Carriage in Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Thailand.

Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) are important causes of serious infections in intensive care unit (ICU). This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for intestinal carriage of ESBL-PE among patients admitted to ICU, subsequent ESBL-PE infections, and outcomes of these patients. This study prospectively collected rectal swabs from 215 ICU patients in Northern Thailand and ESBL-PE were isolated. A high prevalence of ESBL-PE carriage (134/215, 62.3%) at ICU admission was observed, with Escherichia coli representing the predominant organism (67.5%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (19.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified chronic renal disease as the independent risk factor for ESBL-PE carriage (p = 0.009; adjusted odds ratio = 4.369; 95% confidence interval = 1.455-13.119). Among colonized patients, 2.2% (3/134) developed ESBL-PE infections during ICU stay. Phylogenetic analysis of E. coli (n = 108) showed that the predominant group was group A (38.0%), followed by groups B1 (17.6%), D (15.7%), B2 (14.8%), C (7.4%), and F (6.5%). Multilocus sequence typing analysis of the pathogenic groups B2, D, and F revealed 11 different sequence types (STs), with ST131 (n = 13) as the most prevalent, followed by ST648 (n = 5), ST38 (n = 4), ST393 (n = 3), and ST1193 (n = 3). These results are of concern since ESBL-PE may be a prerequisite for endogenous infections and potentially disseminate within the hospital. This is the first study describing ESBL-PE carriage among patients at ICU admission and subsequent ESBL-PE infections in Thailand.