Frequency and associated factors for carbapenem-non-susceptible Bacteroides fragilis group bacteria colonization in hospitalized patients: Case control study in a university hospital in Turkey.

PURPUSE: The carbapenem-resistant Bacteroides fragilis group (CR-BFG) bacteria have been reported in several countries recently with increasing global attention. The high incidence of CR-BFG isolated from our hospitalized patients has become an important problem. Therefore, we aimed to determine the frequency and associated factors for intestinal colonization by carbapenem-non-susceptible BFG (CNS-BFG) among adult patients hospitalized at intensive care units, neurosurgery and internal medicine wards in our hospital. METHODS: Rectal swabs (n = 1200), collected from 766 patients between February 2014 and March 2015, were inoculated onto kanamycin-vancomycin-leaked blood agar containing 0.125 mg/L meropenem. The isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF MS. Susceptibility testing was performed by agar dilution method. The carbapenemase gene (cfiA) was detected by PCR. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associated factors for intestinal colonization by CNS-BFG. RESULTS: A total 180 non-duplicate BFG isolates were obtained from 164 patients. Ten different species, including Parabacteroides distasonis (n = 46, 25.6%), and Bacteroides fragilis (n = 30; 16.6%), were identified. Twenty-five percent of the isolates were non-susceptible to meropenem (MIC >2 mg/L). The highest prevalence of meropenem resistant strains (MIC >8 mg/L) was detected among B. fragilis (n = 12), followed by Parabacteroides spp. (n = 4). All but one B. fragilis strains were cfiA gene positive. Hospital admission, increasing Charlson score, use of antibiotics; including carbapenems in past three months, colonization with other accompanying carbapenem-resistant Gram negative bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and having undergone surgical operations were significantly associated with RCS- BFG colonization. CONCLUSIONS: The high carriage rate of CNS-BFG in hospitalized patients may lead to worse clinical outcomes, such as serious infections and mortality, and deserves attention.

[Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Pathogenic Gram-positive Anaerobic Cocci: Data of a University Hospital in Turkey]. / Patojen Gram-Pozitif Anaerop Koklarin Antimikrobiyal Ilaçlara Duyarliliklari: Türkiye'den Bir Üniversite Hastanesi Verileri.

Gram-positive anaerobic cocci (GPAC), a large group of anaerobic bacteria, are the members of the normal microbiota that colonizes the skin and mucosal surfaces of the human body. However, in case of a wound or when the host becomes immunocompromised, GPAC can cause invasive and most frequently mixed infections. GPAC are the second most frequently isolated bacteria in anaerobic infections. Although the studies are limited, GPAC have been reported to develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs. The resistance of the pathogens to the antimicrobials and improper therapy can cause poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, monitoring of the resistance trends of regional clinically important anaerobic bacteria periodically is recommended. In our study, we aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of clinically important GPAC. A total of 100 non-duplicated pathogenic GPAC isolates were collected from Marmara University Hospital between 2013 and 2015. The isolates were identified by using conventional methods, "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry system (MALDI-TOF MS)" (VITEK MS; v3.0, bioMerieux, France) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out by the agar dilution method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The following antimicrobials were tested: penicillin, amoxicillin/ clavulanic acid (AMC), cefoxitin, meropenem, clindamycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, tigecycline, chloramphenicol, moxifloxacin and metronidazole. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results were interpreted according to the breakpoints described by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Breakpoints recommended by CLSI for cefoxitin, tetracycline and moxifloxacin, and breakpoint recommended by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for tigecycline were used since there were no EUCAST breakpoints for these antimicrobials. MIC50 and MIC90 values were determined for erythromycin since the breakpoint was not described by EUCAST, CLSI or FDA guidelines. The identification results showed that the strains (n= 100) consisted of five different GPAC genus; Parvomonas (40%), Finegoldia (34%), Peptoniphilus (14%), Peptostreptococcus (10%) and Anaerococcus (1%). All of the organisms were susceptible to meropenem, tigecycline and metronidazole. The isolates were highly susceptible to penicillin, AMC, cefoxitin, and chloramphenicol, since the resistance rates against these antimicrobials were 5% or less. The resistance rates against clindamycin, tetracycline and moxifloxacin were 14%, 31% and 24%, respectively. In total, 11% of the isolates were multidrug resistant. Metronidazole and tigecycline displayed high in vitro activity against GPAC and both are appropriate antimicrobials for the selection of empiric therapy. The effectiveness of meropenem was also found high, but it was observed that this antimicrobial would be more appropriate to use in the treatment of severe mixed infections accompanied by other microorganisms with the resistance potential. Detection of penicillin and AMC resistant isolates, which are frequently used in the treatment of GPAC infection, requires periodic monitoring of the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of GPAC. The high rates of resistance against clindamycin, tetracycline and moksifloxacin indicated that these antimicrobials should not be used for empirical treatment of infections without prior antimicrobial susceptibility testing. This study is one of the largest susceptibility studies specifically carried out on GPAC to date in Turkey. We believe that our results will provide good surveillance data both for our hospital and our country.

Detection of beta-lactamase production in clinical Prevotella species by MALDI-TOF MS method.

Penicillins, can be used in treatment of infections due to Prevotella species if they are susceptible to penicillin. Early and accurate preliminary detection of ß-lactamase-producing isolates is crucial for treatment of infection. The aim of this study was to determine ß-lactamase-producing Prevotella species by MALDI-TOF MS and screen them for the presence of cfxA gene, responsible for ß-lactamase production. A total of 500 clinically relevant Prevotella isolates, collected from 13 countries for the previous European antibiotic resistance surveillance study, were tested. Susceptibility testing was performed against ampicillin and ampicillin/sulbactam by Etest methodology. EUCAST guidelines were used for susceptibility interpretations; the isolates with MIC value ≤ 0.5 for ampicillin were considered susceptible and >2 resistant. All Prevotella isolates, were tested for detection of ß-lactamase activity by MALDI-TOF MS (Vitek® MS Research Use Only) system and the presence of the cfxA gene by PCR method. The susceptibility levels of the isolates to ampicillin/sulbactam and ampicillin were 99.6% and 43.4%, respectively. A total 59% of isolates presented ß-lactamase activity and 60.8% were cfxA gene positive. Both these tests were positive for isolates in the resistant category. Additionally, >95% of the isolates (n = 65) which ampicillin MIC values ranged from >0.5 µg/mL to 2 µg/ml displayed ß-lactamase activity. We also found that the MALDI-TOF MS-based ß-lactamase assay delivers results in 2 h. We found a high concordance between the MALDI-TOF MS ß-lactamase results in terms of cfxA ß-lactamase gene presence. MALDI-TOF MS may serve as a simple and efficient alternative method of the existing phenotypic and PCR-based methods.

[Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles of Prevotella Species Determined by Gradient Test Method in Two Centers in Istanbul]. / Istanbul'da Iki Merkeze ait Prevotella Türlerinin Gradiyent Test Yöntemiyle Belirlenen Antimikrobiyal Ilaç Duyarliligi.

Prevotella species, being members of the human microbiota, are obligate anaerobic gram-negative bacteria. These organisms may cause opportunistic infections, including specific oral infections, local or systemic infections. A significant increase of resistance to some antimicrobials has been detected among Prevotella species. The frequency of resistance vary among isolates from different infection sources and between geographic locations. The knowledge about the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of different Prevotella species is limited in Turkey. Providing the antimicrobial susceptibility data of these bacteria is very important for effective empirical treatment. In this study, we aimed to determine susceptibility data for 12 antimicrobial agents against Prevotella strains originating from human infections, collected in two centers in Turkey. A total of 118 Prevotella strains, isolated from different clinical samples in Marmara University Faculty of Medicine Medical Microbiology and Istanbul University Faculty of Dentistry Oral Microbiology Laboratories between January 2014-December 2017, were tested. Organisms were identified by using MALDI-TOF MS and by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Minimal inhibitor concentrations of ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, piperacillin-tazobactam, cefoxitin, meropenem, imipenem, clindamycin, tetracycline, tigecycline, moxifloxacin and metronidazole were determined using gradiyent test methodology (E-test; bioMerieux, France) and the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and Food and Drug Administration guidelines were used for interpretation. Thirteen different Prevotella species were identified, Prevotella bivia and Prevotella nigrescens were the most prevalent species (n= 21) followed by Prevotella buccae (n= 19). All Prevotella strains were susceptible to piperacillin-tazobactam, cefoxitin, meropenem, imipenem and tigecycline. A total of 2 (1.7%) isolates were resistant to metronidazole and 1 (0.8%) isolate was intermediately resistant to ampicillin/sulbactam. The frequency of resistant isolates against ampicillin, clindamycin, tetracycline and moxifloxacin were 57.6%, 36.4%, 18% and 16.3%, respectively. In conclusion, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoxitin, and tigecycline displayed high in vitro activity against Prevotella spp. and they all remained good candidates for empiric therapy. Imipenem and meropenem were also found to be very active, but the usage of carbapenems should be reserved for serious mixed infections, potentially accompanied by other resistant organisms. Intermediate resistance to ampicillinsulbactam and the resistance against metronidazole emphasized the need of periodic monitoring of their susceptibility patterns. The high rates of non-susceptibility to ampicillin, clindamycin, tetracycline and moxifloxacin indicated that these antimicrobials should not be used for treatment of infections without prior antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Performance of mass spectrometric identification of clinical Prevotella species using the VITEK MS system: A prospective multi-center study.

Prevotella species, members of the human microbiota, can cause opportunistic infections. Rapid and accurate identification of Prevotella isolates plays a critical role in successful treatment, especially since the antibiotic susceptibility profile differs between species. Studies, mostly carried out using the Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) Biotyper system, showed that MALDI-TOF MS is an accurate, rapid and satisfactory method for the identification of clinically important anaerobes. In this multi-center study, we assessed the performance of the MALDI-TOF MS VITEK MS system for the identification of clinical Prevotella isolates. A total of 508 Prevotella isolates, representing 19 different species, collected from 11 European countries, Kuwait and Turkey between January 2014 and April 2016, were identified using VITEK MS (v3.0). The reliability of the identification was assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Using VITEK MS, 422 (83.1%) of the 508 isolates were identified on the species level, 459 (90.4%) on the genus level. A total of 49 (9.6%) isolates were not identified correctly. 16S rRNA gene sequencing results showed that this was partly due to the fact that several species were not represented in the database. However, some species that were represented in the database were also not identified. Five Prevotella strains were misidentified at the genus level, 2 of these strains belonged to a species not represented in the database. In general, the VITEK MS offers a reliable and rapid identification of Prevotella species, however the databases needs to be expanded.

A multicenter survey of antimicrobial susceptibility of Prevotella species as determined by Etest methodology.

Knowledge about the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of different Prevotella species is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the current antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of Prevotella species from different parts of Europe, Kuwait and Turkey. Activity of 12 antimicrobials against 508 Prevotella isolates, representing 19 species, were tested according to Etest methodology. EUCAST, CLSI and FDA guidelines were used for susceptibility interpretations. All Prevotella species were susceptible to piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem, meropenem, tigecycline and metronidazole. Ampicillin/sulbactam and cefoxitin also showed good activity. Ampicillin, clindamycin, tetracycline and moxifloxacin were less active; 51.2%, 33.7%, 36.8% and 18.3% of isolates were non-susceptible, respectively. A total of 49 (9.6%) isolates were resistant to three or more antimicrobials. Prevotella bivia was the most prevalent species (n = 118) and accounted for most of the multidrug-resistant isolates. In conclusion, the level of non-susceptibility to antimicrobials, which may be used for treatment of infections involving Prevotella species, are a cause of concern. This data emphasizes the need for species level identification of clinical Prevotella isolates and periodic monitoring of their susceptibility to guide empirical treatment.

In Vitro Evaluation of Planktonic Growth on Experimental Cement-Retained Titanium Surfaces.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of selected cements, or their combination with titanium, on the growth of two periodontopathic bacteria: Prevotella intermedia (Pi) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn). MATERIAL AND METHODS This study was comprised of several experimental groups: 1) Dental luting cements (glass ionomer cement, methacrylate-based resin cement, zinc-oxide eugenol cement, eugenol-free zinc oxide cement; 2) titanium discs; and 3) titanium combination cement discs. The disks were submerged in bacterial suspensions of either Fn or Pi. Planktonic bacterial growth within the test media was measured by determining the optical density of the cultures (OD600). Mean and standard deviations were calculated for planktonic growth from three separate experiments. RESULTS Intergroup comparison of all experimental groups revealed increased growth of Pi associated with cement-titanium specimens in comparison with cement specimens. Regarding the comparison of all groups for Fn, there was an increased amount of bacterial growth in cement-titanium specimens although the increase was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The combination of cement with titanium may exacerbate the bacterial growth capacity of Pi and Fn in contrast to their sole effect.

Hypertonic sabouraud dextrose agar as a substrate for differentiation of Candida dubliniensis.

In this study, we aimed to detect the proportion of Candida dubliniensis among yeast strains previously identified as C. albicans by using several phenotypic methods and PCR.For this purpose, we screened 300 strains by using phenotypic tests suggested for the identification of C. dubliniensis in the literature, but we detected high proportion of false-positive reactions. Only two strains (0.6%) were detected as true C. dubliniensis by PCR and API ID 32C methods. Moreover, these two strains gave the expected results with all the phenotypic tests, including modified salt tolerance test for C. dubliniensis.In conclusion, none of the phenotypic methods, except for the modified salt tolerance test, revealed 100% successful results in discrimination of C. albicans and C. dubliniensis species. However, in the tobacco agar test, the rate of false positivity was as low as 0.6%. We suggest that in the case of absence of PCR and other automatized identification systems, these two phenotypic tests can be used in routine laboratories to obtain a presumptive result.