Determination of Antibiotic Resistance and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Profiles for the Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase Producing Escherichia coli

Abstract

Background: Production of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) is one of the antibiotic resistance strategies in the bacteria. Extended spectrum β-lactamase producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) infections alarmingly increased in recent years in Turkey. Objectives: The current study aimed at determining antibiotic resistance and genotypic profiles of ESBL-positive E. coli isolates. Methods: Forty-five ESBL-positive E. coli species were isolated from a variety of units both at the Mevlana University Foundation Hospital and the Mevlana University Medical Center at Konya province in Turkey from December 2013 to December 2014. Antibiotic resistance profile was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Genotypic profile was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results: The rate of ESBL production in E. coli strains was 13.1%. The isolates were highly resistant to penicillins, cephalosporins, and monobactams, while very low resistant to carbapenems. Four PFGE profiles were identified: profile A (2%), profile B (2%), profile C (67%), and profile D (29%). Profile C, the most commonly identified profile, possessed 6 subprofiles (profiles C1 - C6) with more than 85% clonal similarity; Profile C2 was the commonest identified subprofile of profile C (27%). Conclusions: Extended spectrum β-lactamase producing E. coli strains were highly resistant to β-lactam antibiotics.