Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 7:12:3455-3461.
doi: 10.2147/IDR.S222329. eCollection 2019.

Virulence Factors Of Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa In Hospital-Acquired Infections In Mansoura, Egypt

Rasha El-Mahdy  1 , Ghada El-Kannishy  2
Affiliations

Virulence Factors Of Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa In Hospital-Acquired Infections In Mansoura, Egypt

Rasha El-Mahdy et al. Infect Drug Resist. .

Abstract

Purpose: The problem of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in health-care settings is growing worse. This study was conducted to investigate the rate of carbapenemase genes, antibiotic resistance, and virulence factors in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa associated with hospital-acquired infections.

Patients and methods: Isolates of P. aeruginosa were collected from patients with hospital-acquired infections at Mansoura University Hospital in Mansoura. Carbapenem susceptibility was done by broth dilution. The presence of carbapenemase genes and quorum-sensing genes was assessed by PCR. Production of protease, pyocyanin, twitching motility, hemolytic activity and biofilm formation was evaluated.

Results: Out of 80 P. aeruginosa isolates, 34 (42.5%) were resistant to carbapenem. Among carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates, 21 (61.8%) were carbapenemase producers. The most prevalent gene detected was blaVIM. The frequency of protease, pyocyanin, twitching motility, hemolytic activity and biofilm formation was 76.2%, 58.8%, 83.8%, 93.8% and 77.5%, respectively. Biofilm formation was significantly associated with carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa. On the other hand, pyocyanin production was significantly lower in carbapenem-resistant isolates. No correlation existed between carbapenem resistance and any other studied virulence factors or quorum-sensing genes.

Conclusion: Association of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa with other antibiotic resistance or the presence of virulence factors in hospital-acquired infection may represent a warning that enhances the need for a stringent surveillance program.

Keywords: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; carbapenem; resistance; virulence factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Virulence factors in MDR and non-MDR P. aeruginosa strains.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Xavier DE, Picão RC, Girardello R, Fehlberg LC, Gales AC. Efflux pumps expression and its association with porin down-regulation and β-lactamase production among Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing bloodstream infections in Brazil. BMC Microbiol. 2010;10(1):217. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Poole K. Pseudomonas aeruginosa: resistance to the max. Front Microbiol. 2011;2:65. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2011.00065 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ellappan K, Belgode Narasimha H, Kumar S. Coexistence of multidrug resistance mechanisms and virulence genes in carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains from a tertiary care hospital in South India. J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2018;12:37–43. doi:10.1016/j.jgar.2017.08.018 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim H, Sung JY, Yong D, et al. Disk carbapenemase test for the rapid detection of KPC-, NDM-, and other metallo-beta-lactamase-producing gram-negative bacilli. Ann Lab Med. 2016;36(5):434–440. doi:10.3343/alm.2016.36.5.434 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pollini S, Fiscarelli E, Mugnaioli C, et al. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis caused by an epidemic metallo-β-lactamase-producing clone with a heterogeneous carbapenem resistance phenotype. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2011;17(8):1272–1275. doi:10.1111/j.1469-0691.2011.03466.x - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources