[Results of a multicenter study investigating plasmid mediated colistin resistance genes (mcr-1 and mcr-2) in clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Turkey]. / Ülkemizde klinik Enterobacteriaceae izolatlarinda plazmit aracili kolistin direnç genlerini (mcr-1 ve mcr-2) arastiran çok merkezli çalismaya ait sonuçlar.

Colistin is a polymyxin antibiotic which is considered as one of the last line agents against infections due to multidrug resistant or carbapenem resistant gram-negative pathogens. Colistin resistance is associated with chromosomal alterations which can usually cause mutations in genes coding specific two component regulator systems. The first plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene, mcr-1 was described in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in December 2015 and followed by another plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-2 in 2016. The rapid and interspecies dissemination of plasmid-mediated resistance mechanisms through horizontal gene transfer, have made these genes considerably threatening. After the first reports, although mcr-1/mcr-2 producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates have been reported from many countries, there have been no reports from Turkey. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the presence of mcr-1/mcr-2 in clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates from different parts of our country. A total of 329 Enterobacteriaceae isolates from 22 laboratories were collected which were isolated between March, 2015 and February, 2016. mcr-1/mcr-2 were investigated by polymerase chain reaction during February-March, 2016. Two hundred and seventeen of Klebsiella pneumoniae (66%), 75 of Salmonella spp. (22.8%), 31 of Esherichia coli (9.4%), 3 of Enterobacter cloacae (0.9%), 2 of Klebsiella oxytoca (0.6%) and 1 of Enterobacter aerogenes (0.3%) isolates were included to the study. Agarose gel electrophoresis results of PCR studies have shown expected band sizes for positive control isolates as 309 bp for mcr-1 and 567 bp for mcr-2. However, the presence of mcr-1/mcr-2 genes was not detected among the tested study isolates of Enterobacteriaceae. Although mcr-1/mcr-2 were not detected in our study isolates, it is highly important to understand the mechanism of resistance dissemination and determine the resistant isolates by considering that colistin is a last-line antibiotic against infections of multidrug or carbapenem resistant gram-negative bacteria. Thus, it is suggested that these mechanisms should be followed-up in both clinical and non-clinical (e.g. isolates from food animals, raw meats and environment) isolates of special populations.

[The comparison of antibiotic susceptibilities of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates in transition from CLSI to EUCAST]. / CLSI'dan EUCAST'e geçiste üriner sistem enfeksiyonu etkeni Escherichia coli izolatlarinin antibiyotik duyarliliklarinin karsilastirilmasi.

Determination of treatment protocols for infections according to antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results is are important for controlling the problem of antibiotic resistance. Two standards are widely used in the world. One of them is Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standards used in Turkey for many years and the other is the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) standards which is used in European Union member countries and came into use in 2015 in Turkey. Since the EUCAST standards had higher clinical sensitivity limits particularly for gram-negative bacilli compared to CLSI (2009) standards, there will be some changes in antibiotic resistance profiles of Turkey with the use of EUCAST. CLSI has changed zone diameters after 2009 versions and the differences between the two standards were brought to a minimum level. Knowledge of local epidemiological data is important to determine empirical therapy which will be used in urinary tract infections (UTI). The aim of this study was to determine the differences of antibiotic susceptibility zone diameters based on our local epidemiological data among uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates according to EUCAST 2014 and CLSI 2014 standards. A total of 298 E.coli strains isolated from urine samples as the cause of uncomplicated acute UTI agents, were included in the study. Isolates were identified by conventional methods and with BBL Crystal E/NF ID System (Becton Dickinson, USA). AST was performed with Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method and results were evaluated and interpreted according to the CLSI 2014 and EUCAST 2014 standards. According to the results, susceptibility rates of isolates against amikacin (100%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (63.09%) were identical in both standards. However, statistically significant differences were observed between CLSI and EUCAST standards in terms of susceptibilities against gentamicin (91.95% and 84.56%, respectively; p= 0.004), cefuroxime axetil (20.13% and 77.18%, respectively; p= 0.000) and levofloxacin (73.83% and 67.11%, respectively; p= 0.044). No statistically differences between two standards for ampicillin (32.89% and 36.24%, respectively; p= 0.219), ampicillin-sulbactam (65.77% and 69.13%, respectively; p= 0.216), ciprofloxacin (72.48% and 71.14%, respectively; p= 0.392) and imipenem (94.63% and 95.30%, respectively; p= 0.426) were determined. In this transitional period, continuity of cooperation between the clinician and microbiology laboratory should be kept forefront and the maintenance of local surveillance studies should be provided by taking into account the changes in antibiotic susceptibility results.

Antimicrobial susceptibility against penicillin, ampicillin and vancomycin of viridans group Streptococcus in oral microbiota of patients at risk of infective endocarditis.

The viridans group Streptococci (VGS) are most abundant in the mouth; in some instances they might emerge as pathogens particularly in infective endocarditis (IE). In this study, we aimed to define and determine the susceptibility against antibiotics of VGS that are members of the oral microbiota of patients exhibiting a risk of developing IE. Forty-nine patients at risk of infective endocarditis were included in the study. Identification of the bacteria was performed using API STREP (bioMérieux, France). Gradient test strips (E-Test, France) were used to determine MIC of the bacteria against penicillin, ampicillin, and vancomycin. The distribution of the isolated VGS groups was determined as follows: Streptococcus mitis 32.6% and anginosus group - 32.6%, S. sanguinis group - 16.3%, S. mutans group - 12.2%, and S. salivarius group - 6.1%. The rates of resistance and reduced sensitivity of the isolates for penicillin and ampicillin were determined at 61.2% and 55.1%, respectively. However, all isolates were found to be susceptible to vancomycin. We conclude that the antimicrobial resistance of VGS should be determined on a regular basis locally, and decisions on therapeutic and prophylactic interventions should be given taking this resistance into consideration.

Cerebellar abscess caused by Shewanella putrefaciens.

We report a case of cerebellar abscess secondary to chronic otitis by caused by Shewanella putrefaciens and localized in the cerebellar hemisphere, in a paediatric patient.