Evaluation of techniques for detection of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in stool surveillance cultures.
Screening for gastrointestinal colonization with multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogens is an important component of infection control protocols. In the New York City region, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, which harbor the KPC carbapenem-hydrolyzing beta-lactamase, have rapidly emerged. The potential utility of screening medium, which involved using 10-mug imipenem disks, was investigated. The method of placing a sample from a fecal surveillance culture into broth containing an imipenem disk appeared to have the greatest sensitivity for detecting KPC-producing K. pneumoniae. Gastrointestinal colonization with two other carbapenem-resistant nosocomial pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, was also detected using this method. Placing fecal surveillance specimens into broth containing an imipenem disk is an easy method for screening samples for carbapenem-resistant nosocomial pathogens.
Landman
D
D
Division of Infectious Diseases, Box 77, SUNY Downstate, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA. dlandman@downstate.edu
Salvani
J K
JK
Bratu
S
S
Quale
J
J
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003470:Culture Media; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods
D015780:Carbapenems; D003470:Culture Media; D015378:Imipenem