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. 2024 Jul 23;6(4):dlae112.
doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlae112. eCollection 2024 Aug.

Antimicrobial susceptibility in Clostridioides difficile varies according to European region and isolate source

Jane Freeman  1   2   3 , Virginie Viprey  1 , Duncan Ewin  1 , William Spittal  1 , Emma Clark  1   2 , Jon Vernon  1 , Warren Fawley  2   4 , Georgina Davis  1 , Valerija Tkalec  5   6 , Mark Wilcox  1   2   3 , Maja Rupnik  3   5   6 , Kerrie Davies  1   2   3 ; COMBACTE-CDI Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations

Antimicrobial susceptibility in Clostridioides difficile varies according to European region and isolate source

Jane Freeman et al. JAC Antimicrob Resist. .

Abstract

Objectives: Clostridioides difficile epidemiology is evolving with country-associated emerging and resistant ribotypes (RT). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of C. difficile isolated from clinical and animal samples collected across Europe in 2018 was performed to provide antimicrobial resistance data and according to C. difficile RTs and source.

Methods: Samples were cultured for C. difficile and isolates PCR ribotyped. Metronidazole, vancomycin, fidaxomicin, moxifloxacin, clindamycin, imipenem, tigecycline, linezolid, rifampicin and meropenem minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for 280 clinical and 126 animal isolates were determined by Wilkins-Chalgren agar dilution.

Results: Fidaxomicin was the most active antimicrobial (all isolates geometric mean MIC = 0.03 mg/L) with no evidence of reduced susceptibility. Metronidazole MICs were elevated among RT027 (1.87 mg/L) and RT181 clinical isolates (1.03 mg/L). RT027 and RT181 had elevated geometric mean moxifloxacin MICs (14.49 mg/L, 16.88 mg/L); clindamycin (7.5 mg/L, 9.1 mg/L) and rifampicin (0.6 mg/L, 21.5 mg/L). Five isolates (RT002, RT010 and RT016) were metronidazole resistant (MIC = 8 mg/L) and 10 (RT027; RT198) had intermediate resistance (4 mg/L). Metronidazole MICs were not elevated in animal isolates. Increased geometric mean vancomycin MICs were observed among RT078, mostly isolated from animals, but there was no resistance (MIC ≥ 4 mg/L). Clinical and animal isolates of multiple RTs showed resistance to moxifloxacin and clindamycin. No resistance to imipenem or meropenem was observed.

Conclusion: Increased antimicrobial resistance was detected in eastern Europe and mostly associated with RT027 and related emerging RT181, while clinical isolates from northern and western Europe had the lowest general levels of resistance.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Geometric mean MICs for all antibiotics tested against human clinical and animal isolates by European regions. MET, metronidazole; VAN, vancomycin; MXF, moxifloxacin; IMI, imipenem; CLINDA, clindamycin; LZD, linezolid; MERO, meropenem; FDX, fidaxomicin; TIGE, tigecycline; RIF, rifampicin.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Antimicrobial resistance in clinical human and animal C. difficile isolates by European region. Average CRS is shown (median as black line).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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