Characteristics ofPseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from urinary tract infections

Thirty-three uropathogenic strains ofPseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated for hemolytic activity in both bacterial broth culture filtrates and isolate lyzates, resistance to bactericidal activity of fresh human serum, resistance to six antibiotics and plasmid DNA profile. Twenty-four of the 33 (73%) bacterial filtrates showed lysis of rabbit erythrocytes, as did the three after guinea-pig erythrocyte treatment. Twelve of 33 isolate lysates showed in parallel lysis of both types of erythrocytes used. Serum resistance was found in 17 (52%) isolates, intermediate resistance in 15 (45%) isolates and only one isolate showed serum sensitivity. Resistance to antibiotics was detected as follows (in %): tetracycline 94, kanamycin 79, chloramphenicol 76, septrin 73, ampicillin 64, streptomycin 45, gentamicin 18. None of the isolates investigated showed resistance to colistine. With the exception of one isolate, plasmid DNA was detected in allP. aeruginosa strains.     

In vitro PYOCIN activity ofPseudomonas aeruginosa strains pretreated with antibiotics

Fifty-six selected strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa belonging to 8 different pyocin types (H, I, 15, 6, PTI-1, PTI-2, PTI-3, PTI-4) were treated with subinhibitory concentrations (MIC/2) of either gentamicin or carbenicillin. Both treatments induced changes in pyocin patterns for all types but at different levels. The percentage of strains that retained their pyocin pattern were more or less equal in both treatments. In treated and untreated producers, the growth inhibition ability for 5 different strains of Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli K12, E. coli EB, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri) was also investigated. In all pyocin patterns the number of producers that inhibit the growth of these strains was lower after treatment with gentamicin or with carbenicillin, a smaller decrease was detected in the latter treatment. It appeared that the subinhibitory concentrations of these antibiotics are capable of protecting the Enterobacteriaceae strains from the action of the pyocins.     

Toxinogenicity and markers of pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from patients with tumor diseases

Potential virulence factors (elastase, proteinase, lipase, phospholipase C, alginate) as well as surface properties (hydrophobicity, motility) were determined in 103Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from patients with cancer. Nontypable strains were the dominant group (60%), followed by serotypes O11 (17%), O12 (7%) and O4 (5%). Seventy-one strains (69%) produced high level of elastase (10–60 mg/L), 87% of the strains possessed high activity of proteinase (bacterial) (10–250 mg/L) and 69% of the strains demonstrated higher level of lipase (20–150 U/mL); these elevated levels of enzymes were associated mainly with nontypable strains. On the other hand, 79% of the strains did not produce or produced only a low level of phospholipase C and 60% of isolates did not manifest any or very low production of alginate. Hydrophobicity demonstrated by adherence of the bacteria to xylene was shown by 69% of strains; 94% of strains aggregated with ammonium sulfate. Motility in the range of 31–80 mm was found in 76 strains (74%). The considerable virulence of testedP. aeruginosa strains was confirmed. The nontypable strains manifested the most frequent group with high level of elastase, proteinase, lipase, hydrophobicity and motility.     

Fluoroquinolone susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from clinical materials

The goal of our research was an analysis of sensitivity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to fluoroquinolones (SPX, PEF, UB, LOM, CIP, ENX, OFX, NOR). The sensitivity was tested by disk diffusion method, according to NCCLS standards. 120 strains isolated from hospitalized (76 strains) and outpatient clinic (44 strains) persons were tested. The highest sensitivity of strains was observed to norfloxacin (36.8% and 86.4% of strains, respectively) and ciprofloxacin (30.3% and 81.8%). None of tested microorganisms was sensitive to flumequine. Resistant strains, isolated from sick persons in outpatient clinics were fewer (13.6%) as compared to hospitalized persons (51.3%).     

Isolation and characterization of serum-resistant strains ofPseudomonas aeruginosa derived from serum-sensitive parental strains

Six serum-resistant (serR) mutantPseudomonas aeruginosa strains were isolated from six serum-sensitive (serS) parental strains by subculturing the sensitive strains in increasing concentrations of normal pooled fresh human serum (FHS). Although the colonial type of the mutant was similar to that of the parental strains, each of the serR mutants had an altered serotype when compared to its parental counterpart. Three mutant strains and their corresponding parental strains were chosen for further examination. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) preparations from the serR strains were found to be heterogeneous, containing LPS with varying degrees of O-side-chain substitution, whereas the LPS of the serS strains contained primarily lipid A-core polysaccharide components. Although two of the serR mutant strains had an outer membrane protein (OMP) profile analogous to their serS parental counterparts, one serR strain differed from its parental strain by the absence of a 32,000 dalton major OMP. These studies suggest that the susceptibility ofP. aeruginosa to the bactericidal activity of FHS may be related to either or both LPS structure or OMP content.     

Frequency of isolation and susceptibility to antibiotics of Escherichia coli strains isolated from blood

The aim of our study was the analysis of Escherichia coli strains obtained from patients of University Hospital No 1 of dr A. Jurasz Collegium Medicum of L. Rydygier in Bydgoszcz Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and State Infectious Diseases Observatory Hospital of T. Browicz in Bydgoszcz, between 2007 and 2010. Among all microorganisms isolated from blood was 8.7% E. coli strains and 45.1% of all rods from Enterobacteriaceae family. Number of E. coli isolations from positive blood samples was: 64 in 2007, 69 in 2008, 77 in 2009 and 26 in the first half of 2010 year. The highest percentage of E. coli strains were obtained from patients of the Transplantology and Surgery Clinic (16.1%), the Nephrology and Internal Diseases Clinic with the Dialysis Centre (14.0%), the Pediatric, Hematology and Oncology Clinic (13.6%) and the Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Clinic (13.6%). All analysed strains were susceptible to carbapenems, amikacin and tygecycline. The highest percentage of resistant strains were observed to ampicillin (70.7%), piperacillin (43.9%), tetracycline (42.8%) and doxycycline (38.8%). During four years of study 4 (6.3%), one, three and two E. coli strains with ESBL were isolated, respectively.     

Occurrence and susceptibility to antibiotics of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains between 1998 and 2009

P. aeruginosa rods are dangerous pathogens mainly responsible for nosocomial infections of different localization. Resistance to carbapenems, observed among them, is a serious threat due to ability to be transmitted between bacterial species. The aim of our study was to retrospectively evaluate the frequency of isolation and susceptibility to antibiotics of imipenem- and meropenem-resistant P. aeruginosa strains isolated between 1998 and 2009 from patients of University Hospital No 1 of dr A. Jurasz in Bydgoszcz. Study shows increasing number of isolation that type of strains from 19 in 1998 to 144 in 2009. Among all isolated P. aeruginosa strains majority was obtained from patients of the Intensive Care Units, Rehabilitation and Surgery Clinics. Examined strains of P. aeruginosa rods were mainly isolated from urine (20.5%), bronchoalveolar lavage (17.7%) and wound swabs (14.5%) samples. The isolates demonstrated frequently resistance to carbenicillin (> or 66.7%), ticarcillin (> or = 72.7%) and cefotaxime (> or = 75.6%). The lowest rate of resistant strains was observed in case of ceftazidime (< or = 68.8%), aztreonam (< or = 47.4%) and colistin (< or = 1.7%) suggesting the highest activity of that antimicrobials against infections caused by examined strains.     

Antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial strains isolated from patients with various infections

AIMS: Isolates from various samples obtained during 1998 and 1999 were identified and their susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins, monobactams and/or cephamycins studied along with any production of ESBLs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Of these samples, bacteria most frequently isolated by the conventional techniques and Vitek GNI card were Escherichia coli (37%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (27%) and Enterobacter cloacae (16%). Using disk diffusion and double-disk synergy tests, we found that 71% strains produced ESBLs and 18% strains produced ESBLs and cephamycinases. Banding patterns of PCR amplification with the designed primers showed that 57% strains were capable of harbouring bla(SHV) genes. The bla(TEM), bla(CMY) and bla(AmpC) genes were harboured by 55%, 31% and 12% strains, respectively. Forty-five percent of strains contained more than two types of beta-lactamase genes. In particular, one strain contained bla(TEM), bla(SHV), bla(CMY) and bla(AmpC) genes. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of ESBL-producing strains was high. The most prevalent beta-lactamase gene was bla(SHV) gene. The bla(CMY) genes have been prevalent in cephamycin-resistant strains. The multidrug-resistant strains resistant to third-generation cephalosporins and cephamycins were detected in high percentage. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Resistance mechanisms to beta-lactams, comprising mostly extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production, lead to the resistance against even recently developed beta-lactams in enterobacteria, which is now a serious threat to antibiotic therapy. The high prevalence of bla(CMY) genes and multidrug-resistant genes may also cause therapeutic failure and lack of eradication of these strains by third-generation cephalosporins or cephamycins.     

Antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from patients with infected burns

Sensitivity to 15 drugs of 248 P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients with infected burns was studied by the method of agar dilution. All of the strains were resistant to polymyxin M, ceporin, erythromycin and oleandomycin. Most of the strains were resistant to streptomycin, monomycin, ampicillin and rifadin. Moderate resistance of the strains to carbenicillin, morphocycline, vibramycin, kanamycin, tetraolean and tetracycline was observed: the maximum concentrations of these antibiotics (128 microgram/ml) inhibited the growth of 85, 69, 63, 51.8, 43.6 and 41.2 per cent of the strains respectively. Gentamicin proved to be most active against the strains of P. aeruginosa and inhibited 87 per cent of the strains when used in the therapeutic doses. The study provided recomendation of the drugs for parenteral and local use in treatment of burns infected with P. aeruginosa.     

Similarities of genome deoxyribonucleic acids ofPseudomonas strains isolated from meat

A total of 29Pseudomonas strains from meat and 14 reference strains of differentPseudomonas species were studied by DNA-DNA hybridization. Of the field strains, 15 were phenotypically similar toP. fragi; the others represented a new group described by Molin and Ternström [4], phenotypically related toP. fragi and the fluorescent pseudomonads; 12 strains of this phenotype formed one major DNA-relatedness group; the type strain ofP. fragi together with nine field strains formed another group. The remaining eight meat isolates could not be assigned to either of the two groups. The intergroup relatedness and the relatedness of both groups to the fluorescent pseudomonads was about 50%. Hybridization data indicate that the phenotype of Molin and Ternström deserves species rank and that this tentative species andP. fragi belong to the group of fluorescent pseudomonads.     

Antibiotic susceptibility and occurrence of ESBL in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from different clinical specimens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the drug susceptibility of 132 P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients hospitalized in SPSK University Hospital in Bialystok. The isolates were obtained from clinical specimens over an 11-month period in 2001 and 2002. All the strains were identified in automatic ATB system using API 20 NE strips, and their susceptibility to antibiotics was tested by standard disc-diffusion method and agar dilution method. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for five antibiotics: piperacillin, amikacin, ceftazidime, imipenem and ciprofloxacin. The majority of strains were susceptible to ceftazidime (91.7%), piperacillin combined with tazobactam (85.6%), amikacin (80.3%), meropenem and imipenem (81.8%). Many of our strains were resistant to cefotaxime (73.5%), ticarcillin (53%) and ciprofloxacin (48.5%). Also, the trial was undertaken to detect strains producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) and inducible beta-lactamases (IBL) among P. aeruginosa rods isolated from different specimens. ESBL-producing strains were detected with double disc test (DDST) and combination double disc (CD) test. Clavulanate was applied as the inhibitor of these beta-lactamases. Strains producing ESBL were not found. On the other hand, as many as 127 P. aeruginosa strains (96.2%) produced inducible beta-lactamases (IBL).     

Survey of susceptibility of clinical Clostridium diffiicile strains isolated from patients hospitalised in different departments of paediatric hospital to antimicrobial agents

This study was performed to determine the susceptibility of 50 C. difficile strains isolated from faecal samples of children suspected to antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) to antimicrobial agents: metronidazole, vancomycin, erythromycin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, moxifloksacin, gatifloksacin and imipenem. The all C. difficile strains were sensitived to metronidazole and vancomycin. Twenty six per cent of strains were resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin (MLS(B) type resistance). Resitance to ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin and imipenem was detected in 98%, 8%, 8% and 30% of C. difficile strains, respectively.     

Infectivity and resistance to antibiotics of bacterial strains isolated from patients hospitalised in intensive care units

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of isolation and antimicrobial resistance testing of bacterial strains isolated from clinical specimens from patients hospitalized in three Intensive Care Units in Wroc?aw. The susceptibility of bacteria (107 strains) to selected antibiotics was determined. The results clearly show that non-fermentative rods were identified as the main agents causing pneumonia (58% of isolates). The second commonest pathogens were Gram-positive cocci (29%). The P. aeruginosa and E. cloacae strains were resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, cefuroxime and cefotaxime. All isolates of A. baumanii were susceptible only to imipenem. The rods of K. pneumoniae and E. coli were resistant to ampicillin, about 55% strains of both bacteria were sensitive to other antibiotics, except piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem and ciprofloxacin. About 90% of methicillin resistant S. epidermidis strains were resistant to all antibiotics, except vancomycin (100% isolates were sensitive). ESBL were detected among E. cloace, K. pneumoniae and E. coli. We found P. aeruginosa rods producing MBL.     

Prevalence of multidrug-resistant Proteus spp. strains in clinical specimens and their susceptibility to antibiotics

Proteus sp. are opportunistic microorganisms which cause urinary tract and wounds infections, bacteriaemia and sepsis. The aim of this study was analysis of prevalence of multidrug-resistant Proteus sp. strains in clinical specimens and evaluation of their susceptibility to selected antibiotics. The study was carried out of 1499 Proteus sp. strains were isolated in 2000-2003 from patients of departments and dispensaries of the University Hospital CM in Bydgoszcz UMK in Torun. The strains were identified on the basis of appearance of bacterial colonies on bloody and McConkey's agars, movement ability, indole and urease production and in questionable cases biochemical profile in ID GN or ID E (bio-Mérieux) tests was also included. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested by disk diffusion method. Isolated strains were regarded as multidrug-resistant when they were resistant to three kinds of antibiotics at least. Received Proteus sp. the most frequently belonged to P. mirabilis species (92.3%). Most of these bacteria were isolated from urine from patients of Rehabilitation Clinic. All of multidrug-resistant strains were resistant to penicillins and cephalosporins, 98.9% to co-trimoxazole, 77.7% to quinolones, 63.8% to tetracyclines, 38.5% to aminoglycosides, 19.3% to monobactams and 3.4% to carbapenems. Almost 25% multidrug-resistant Proteus sp. produced ESBL.