Phylogenetic Analysis and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from UTI-Suspected Patients

BACKGROUND: Escherichia coli as one of the most predominant pathogens is the major cause of urinary tract infections (UTI) worldwide. E. coli strains could be classified into distinct phylo-groups based on PCR method. Additionally, studying the antimicrobial resistance profiles of these strains is essential for finding the effective selection of treatment and evaluating the differences among resistance patterns of particular phylogenetic groups. This study aimed to determine the phylogroups of E. coli isolated from patients with UTI in Tehran, Iran. METHODS: The urine samples were collected from patients suspected to UTI from four hospitals in Tehran, Iran; Mofid, Vali-Asr, Bu-Ali and Tehran Heart Center (THC) Hospitals during 2014–2016. Assessing the antimicrobial resistance profile of the identified strains was accomplished using ampicillin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and ceftazidime among β-lactam group; gentamicin, and streptomycin among aminoglycosides; nalidixic acid and norfloxacin from quinolones; and chloramphenicol disks. The phylogenetic characterization of 60 E. coli isolates obtained from patients with UTI was done by triplex PCR method. RESULTS: E. coli strains showed high resistance toward streptomycin (93.33%), ampicillin (86.6%) and nalidixic acid (73.33%) while resistance against chloramphenicol showed the lowest (10%). The prevalent groups were B2 (n=50/60, 83%), followed by D (n=6/60, 10%), B1 (n=3/60, 5%), and A (n=1, 1.6%). CONCLUSION: The most predominant phylogenetic group was B2 with the major frequent detected with the major drug resistant (48%) compared to other Phylogenetic groups.