TY - JOUR
T1 - Antimicrobial resistance from Enterococci in a pediatric hospital. Plasmids in enterococcus faecalis isolates with high-level gentamicin and streptomycin resistance
AU - Miranda, Guadalupe
AU - Lee, Linda
AU - Kelly, Cindy
AU - Solórzano, Fortino
AU - Leaños, Blanca
AU - Muñoz, Onofre
AU - Patterson, Jan Evans
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was sponsored in part by the collaborative program between the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and the Coordinación de Investigación Médica, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Mexico City.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Background: Enterococcus spp. is an important nosocomial and community-acquired pathogen. Recent studies have documented the increasing importance of this pathogen in children, particularly in the hospital setting. Our objective in this study was to report the frequency of antimicrobial resistance in enterococci and to determine the characteristics of high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR) plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis clinical isolates. Methods: Two hundred eighty-nine enterococcal isolates were collected during an 18-month period from a tertiary-care pediatric hospital in Mexico City. Isolates were screened for antibiotic resistance, including HLGR. High-level, gentamicin-resistant E. faecalis strains were selected for pulsed-field electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and plasmid analysis. Transferability of resistance markers was carried out using filter matings. Results: Seventy-six percent of isolates were E. faecalis, 10% were E. avium, 5.2% E. faecium, 5.2% E. raffinossus, 1.38% E. malodoratus, 0.6% E. hirae, and 0.6% E. casseliflavus. Antimicrobial resistance was ampicillin and penicillin 29%, imipenem 17%, and vancomycin 3%, HLGR 5%. The following 15 high-level, gentamicin-resistant isolates were identified: six E. faecalis; four E. avium; three E. faecium, and two E. casseliflavus. Five of the six E. faecalis isolates were different by PFGE and transferred gentamicin and streptomycin resistance on filter membranes. Transfer frequencies ranged from 8.2 × 10-4 to 6.92 × 10-5 transconjugants/recipient cell. The plasmid content of donors and transconjugants were homogeneous (one plasmid of 47 kb). Conclusions: In this pediatric hospital, antimicrobial resistance in Enterococcus spp. is common. Frequency of high-level, gentamicin-resistant strains is low. Mechanism of HLGR appears to be due to a single plasmid dissemination.
AB - Background: Enterococcus spp. is an important nosocomial and community-acquired pathogen. Recent studies have documented the increasing importance of this pathogen in children, particularly in the hospital setting. Our objective in this study was to report the frequency of antimicrobial resistance in enterococci and to determine the characteristics of high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR) plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis clinical isolates. Methods: Two hundred eighty-nine enterococcal isolates were collected during an 18-month period from a tertiary-care pediatric hospital in Mexico City. Isolates were screened for antibiotic resistance, including HLGR. High-level, gentamicin-resistant E. faecalis strains were selected for pulsed-field electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and plasmid analysis. Transferability of resistance markers was carried out using filter matings. Results: Seventy-six percent of isolates were E. faecalis, 10% were E. avium, 5.2% E. faecium, 5.2% E. raffinossus, 1.38% E. malodoratus, 0.6% E. hirae, and 0.6% E. casseliflavus. Antimicrobial resistance was ampicillin and penicillin 29%, imipenem 17%, and vancomycin 3%, HLGR 5%. The following 15 high-level, gentamicin-resistant isolates were identified: six E. faecalis; four E. avium; three E. faecium, and two E. casseliflavus. Five of the six E. faecalis isolates were different by PFGE and transferred gentamicin and streptomycin resistance on filter membranes. Transfer frequencies ranged from 8.2 × 10-4 to 6.92 × 10-5 transconjugants/recipient cell. The plasmid content of donors and transconjugants were homogeneous (one plasmid of 47 kb). Conclusions: In this pediatric hospital, antimicrobial resistance in Enterococcus spp. is common. Frequency of high-level, gentamicin-resistant strains is low. Mechanism of HLGR appears to be due to a single plasmid dissemination.
KW - Enterococci
KW - HLGR
KW - High-level gentamicin resistance
KW - Pediatric patients
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U2 - 10.1016/S0188-4409(01)00265-X
DO - 10.1016/S0188-4409(01)00265-X
M3 - Article
C2 - 11343815
AN - SCOPUS:0035004857
VL - 32
SP - 159
EP - 163
JO - Archives of Medical Research
JF - Archives of Medical Research
SN - 0188-4409
IS - 2
ER -