High prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-mediated resistance in K. pneumoniae isolates from Egypt

The emergence and rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates harbouring the blaKPC gene that encodes for carbapenemase production have complicated the management of patient infections. This study in a tertiary care hospital in Egypt used real-time PCR assay to test ertapenem-nonsusceptible isolates of K. pneumoniae for the presence of the blaKPC gene and compared the results with modified Hodge test. Antibiotic sensitivity was performed by standard methods, and interpreted following both the old CLSI breakpoints (M100-S19) for carbapenems and the revised breakpoints (M100-S22). From the 45 non-duplicate isolates of K. pneumoniae recovered from different clinical specimens, a high prevalence of ertapenem-nonsusceptible isolates (44.4%) was reported using the new lower CLSI breakpoints. The blaKPC gene was confirmed in 14/20 (70.0%) of these isolates. The high prevalence of ertapenem nonsusceptibility at a tertiary care hospital in Egypt was predominantly attributed to K. pneumoniae carbapenemase-mediated resistance mechanisms in K. pneumoniae isolates.