Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1998, p. 2575-2579, Vol. 36, No. 9
Center for Research in Anti-Infectives and
Biotechnology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology,
Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178
Received 30 March 1998/Returned for modification 15 May
1998/Accepted 14 June 1998
Among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli,
Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella oxytoca,
there is an ever-increasing prevalence of
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Can Results Obtained with Commercially Available MicroScan
Microdilution Panels Serve as an Indicator of
-Lactamase
Production among Escherichia coli and
Klebsiella Isolates with Hidden Resistance to
ExpandedSpectrum Cephalosporins and Aztreonam?
-lactamases
that may confer resistance to newer
-lactam antibiotics that is
not detectable by conventional procedures.
Therefore, 75 isolates of these species producing well-characterized
-lactamases were studied using two MicroScan
conventional microdilution panels, Gram Negative Urine MIC 7 (NU7)
and Gram Negative MIC Plus 2 (N+2), to determine if results could
be utilized to provide an accurate indication of
-lactamase
production in the absence of frank resistance to expanded-spectrum
cephalosporins and aztreonam. The enzymes studied included
Bush groups 1 (AmpC), 2b (TEM-1, TEM-2, and SHV-1), 2be (extended
spectrum
-lactamases [ESBLs] and K1), and 2br, alone and in
various combinations. In tests with E. coli and K. pneumoniae and the NU7 panel, cefpodoxime MICs of
2 µg/ml
were obtained only for isolates producing ESBLs or AmpC
-lactamases. Cefoxitin MICs of >16 µg/ml were obtained for all
strains producing AmpC
-lactamase and only 1 of 33 strains producing ESBLs. For the N+2 panel, ceftazidime MICs of
4
µg/ml correctly identified 90% of ESBL producers and
100% of AmpC producers among isolates of E. coli and
K. pneumoniae. Cefotetan MICs of
8 µg/ml were obtained for seven of eight producers of AmpC
-lactamase and no ESBL producers. For tests performed with
either panel and isolates of K. oxytoca, MICs of
ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and ceftizoxime were elevated for strains
producing ESBLs, while ceftriaxone and aztreonam MICs separated
low-level K1 from high-level K1 producers within this species. These
results suggest that microdilution panels can be used by
clinical laboratories as an indicator of certain
-lactamases that
may produce hidden but clinically significant resistance
among isolates of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and
K. oxytoca. Although it may not always be possible to
differentiate between strains that produce ESBLs and those that
produce AmpC, this differentiation is not critical since
therapeutic options for patients infected with such organisms are
similarly limited.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Center for
Research in Anti-Infectives and Biotechnology, Department of Medical
Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, NE
68178. Phone: (402) 280-1881. Fax: (402) 280-1225. E-mail:
esmoland{at}creighton.edu.
This article has been cited by other articles:
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»