Detection of OXA-carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae with chromID CARBA SMART screening plate

Early appropriate diagnostics and treatment of MDR Gram-negative infections

The term difficult-to-treat resistance has been recently coined to identify Gram-negative bacteria exhibiting resistance to all fluoroquinolones and all β-lactam categories, including carbapenems. Such bacteria are posing serious challenges to clinicians trying to identify the best therapeutic option for any given patient. Delayed appropriate therapy has been associated with worse outcomes including increase in length of stay, increase in total in-hospital costs and ∼20% increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality. In addition, time to appropriate antibiotic therapy has been shown to be an independent predictor of 30 day mortality in patients with resistant organisms. Improving and anticipating aetiological diagnosis through optimizing not only the identification of phenotypic resistance to antibiotic classes/agents, but also the identification of specific resistance mechanisms, would have a major impact on reducing the frequency and duration of inappropriate early antibiotic therapy. In light of these considerations, the present paper reviews the increasing need for rapid diagnosis of bacterial infections and efficient laboratory workflows to confirm diagnoses and facilitate prompt de-escalation to targeted therapy, in line with antimicrobial stewardship principles. Rapid diagnostic tests currently available and future perspectives for their use are discussed. Early appropriate diagnostics and treatment of MDR Gram-negative infections require a multidisciplinary approach that includes multiple different diagnostic methods and further consensus of algorithms, protocols and guidelines to select the optimal antibiotic therapy.

Prevalence of faecal carriage of Carbapenemase Producing Enterobacteriaceae in healthy Indian subjects from the community

PURPOSE

Faecal carriage of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) has been extensively investigated in hospitalized patients, but limited data is available on the carriage rate in healthy individuals in India.

METHODS

A total of 1000 stool samples were screened for CPE from healthy individuals in Chennai (n ​= ​50), Hyderabad (n ​= ​184) and Mumbai (n ​= ​766). Diluted stool samples were cultured on chromID CARBA SMART plates. Growing colonies were screened for CPE by RAPIDEC® CARBA NP Test and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of imipenem by E-Test. PCR was performed for confirmation of CPE genes.

RESULTS

Out of the 1000 stool samples tested, 6.1% were positive for CPE. A total of 64 carbapenem resistant isolates (56 ​E.coli, 4 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 3 Enterobacter cloacae and 1 Citrobacter freundii) were recovered from ChromID CARBA SMART biplate. Carbapenemase production was identified in 57/64 isolates by RAPIDEC® CARBA NP test. PCR analysis showed 28 bla_NDM-1 and 33 bla_OXA48. Three remaining isolates (2 ​E.coli, 1 ​K.pneumoniae) were negative for the tested carbapenemase genes. Interestingly, out of these 61 PCR positive isolates, 49.1% displayed imipenem MIC within the susceptibility range on the basis of CLSI interpretative criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

Faecal carriage of CPE among healthy individuals was 6.1%. Comprehensive measures to improve the sanitation scenario and implementation of National AMR action plan are needed to prevent further generation and dissemination of carbapenem resistant Enterobacterales (CRE).

Challenge of drug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: clonal spread of NDM-1-positive ST-308 within a tertiary hospital

OBJECTIVES

MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a serious global threat to healthcare institutions. The mechanism by which drug resistance can be acquired is variable, but acquired carbapenemase production has been reported in P. aeruginosa. An investigation was performed to determine the rate and genomic epidemiology of New Delhi MBL (NDM) in β-lactam-non-susceptible isolates.

METHODS

P. aeruginosa isolates from a tertiary hospital in Singapore between January 2015 and February 2018 were investigated for the presence of NDM genes.

RESULTS

Out of 298 pan-β-lactam-non-susceptible isolates, 31 were found to be NDM positive (10.4%). WGS demonstrated that all 31 NDM-positive isolates were clonal, belonging to ST-308. blaNDM was chromosomally inserted within an integrative and conjugative element (ICE), ICETn43716385. The NDM-P. aeruginosa isolates possessed an extensive repertoire of both cell-associated [flagella, pili, alginate/biofilm, LPS, type III secretion system (T3SS) and type VI secretion system (T6SS)] and secreted virulence factors. Antibiograms revealed higher rates of drug resistance in NDM-positive isolates compared with their non-NDM counterparts. The NDM isolates remained 100% susceptible only to colistin.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of chromosomal mutations, acquired resistance genes and virulence factors likely facilitated the persistent and ongoing spread of the ST-308 clade of P. aeruginosa within the hospital. Our study illustrates the particular threat of NDM-positive P. aeruginosa in a tertiary hospital setting in the era of antimicrobial resistance.

Rapid Identification of OXA-48-like, KPC, NDM, and VIM Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae From Culture: Evaluation of the RESIST-4 O.K.N.V. Multiplex Lateral Flow Assay

There is an urgent need for accurate and rapid diagnostic assays capable of identifying carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). We assessed the performance of the RESIST-4 O.K.N.V. (OKNV) assay (Coris BioConcept, Gembloux, Belgium) for the identification of oxacillinase (OXA)-48-like-, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-, New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-, and Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM)-producing Enterobacteriaceae grown on sheep blood agar (SBA) and the CHROMagar KPC medium. Sixty-five carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) isolates with characterized carbapenemase content were used to evaluate the OKNV assay. The assay correctly identified all 30 isolates that produced one of the four targeted carbapenemase families. Additionally, it correctly identified 15 isolates that co-produced KPC and NDM, VIM and NDM or OXA-48-like and NDM, but failed to identify an NDM-1 and OXA-232 co-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate. All 16 non-carbapenemase-producing CRE and four CPE isolates exhibited negative results, and no cross-reaction was observed. Overall, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay were 97.8% and 100%, respectively. The OKNV assay is an accurate and rapid assay for identifying OXA-48-like, KPC, NDM, and VIM carbapenemases produced by Enterobacteriaceae isolates cultured on both SBA and the CHROMagar KPC media in the clinical microbiology laboratory.

Ongoing dissemination of OXA-244 carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli in Switzerland and their detection

OXA-244 is a derivative of OXA-48 showing weaker carbapenemase activity, compromising the detection of corresponding producers in clinical laboratories. Since 2017, the Swiss National Reference Center for Emerging Antibiotic Resistance noticed an increased identification of OXA-244-producing Escherichia coli (n=15) within the country. Different methods (biochemical and immunoassay tests, screening culture media) were tested for the detection of OXA-244 producers. Whole genome sequencing was used to investigate the genetic relatedness between the isolates and the genetic structures at the origin of the acquisition of the bla_OXA-244 gene. The mSuperCARBA® medium and the NG-Test CARBA5 assay were found to be suitable tools for detecting all OXA-244-producing isolates. Other selective media did not perform optimally. Among the fifteen strains, five sequence types were identified, with ST38 being predominant. The bla_OXA-244 gene was located on the chromosome for all isolates. Overall, detection of OXA-244 producers is challenging and specific guidelines must be followed.