Reduced susceptibility to vancomycin and biofilm formation in
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from blood
cultures |
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Authors: | Luiza Pinheiro Carla Ivo Brito Valéria Cataneli Pereira Adilson de Oliveira Carlos Henrique Camargo Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha |
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Institution: | Laboratório de Microbiologia, Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brasil |
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Abstract: | This study aimed to correlate the presence of ica genes, biofilm
formation and antimicrobial resistance in 107 strains of Staphylococcus
epidermidis isolated from blood cultures. The isolates were analysed to
determine their methicillin resistance, staphylococcal cassette chromosome
mec (SCCmec) type, ica genes
and biofilm formation and the vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was
measured for isolates and subpopulations growing on vancomycin screen agar. The
mecA gene was detected in 81.3% of the S.
epidermidis isolated and 48.2% carried SCCmec type III.
The complete icaADBC operon was observed in 38.3% of the isolates;
of these, 58.5% produced a biofilm. Furthermore, 47.7% of the isolates grew on
vancomycin screen agar, with an increase in the MIC in 75.9% of the isolates.
Determination of the MIC of subpopulations revealed that 64.7% had an MIC ≥ 4 μg
mL-1, including 15.7% with an MIC of 8 μg mL-1 and 2% with
an MIC of 16 μg mL-1. The presence of the icaADBC operon,
biofilm production and reduced susceptibility to vancomycin were associated with
methicillin resistance. This study reveals a high level of methicillin resistance,
biofilm formation and reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in subpopulations of
S. epidermidis. These findings may explain the selection of
multidrug-resistant isolates in hospital settings and the consequent failure of
antimicrobial treatment. |
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Keywords: | Staphylococcus epidermidis icaADBC mecA SCCmec vancomycin MIC |
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