Class 1 integron and Imipenem Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important causative agents of nosocomial infections especially in ICU and burn units. P. aeruginosa infections are normally difficult to eradicate due to acquired resistance to many antibiotics. Recent appearance of carbapenem resistant P. aeruginosa isolates is considered a major healthcare problem. The present study was conducted to detect class 1 integron and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of imipenem-sensitive and resistant clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Antibiotic susceptibility profiles and minimum inhibitory concentration against imipenem was studied in 160 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa by disk agar diffusion method and Etest, respectively. Detection of class 1 integron was performed by the PCR method. Demographic and microbiological data were compared between imipenem susceptible and non-susceptible isolates by the SPSS software. RESULTS: PCR results showed that 90 (56.3%) of P. aeruginosa isolates carried class 1 integron. Antibiotic susceptibility results revealed that 93 (58.1%) were susceptible and 67 (41.9%) were non-susceptible to imipenem. Comparison of antibiotic susceptibility patterns showed high level of drug resistance among imipenem non-susceptible isolates. We found that MDR phenotype, presence of class 1 integron and hospitalization in ICU and burn units were significantly associated with imipenem non-susceptible isolates. CONCLUSION: The high frequency of imipenem resistance was seen among our P. aeruginosa isolates. Since carbapenems are considered as the last drugs used for treatment of P. aeruginosa infections, it is crucial to screen imipenem non-susceptible isolates in infection control and optimal therapy.