title: Rectal swabs are suitable for quantifying the carriage load of KPC-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
abstract: It is more convenient and practical to collect rectal swabs than stool specimens to study carriage of colon pathogens. In this study, we examined the ability to use rectal swabs rather than stool specimens to quantify Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). We used a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay to determine the concentration of the bla(KPC) gene relative to the concentration of 16S rRNA genes and a quantitative culture-based method to quantify CRE relative to total aerobic bacteria. Our results demonstrated that rectal swabs are suitable for quantifying the concentration of KPC-producing CRE and that qPCR showed higher correlation between rectal swabs and stool specimens than the culture-based method.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory, Division of Epidemiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chmelnitsky
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Navon-Venezia
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edgar
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Carmeli
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000494:pharmacology; D003106:Colon / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013048:Specimen Handling; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance / Q000187:drug effects; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015780:Carbapenems; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D001618:beta-Lactamases; C063912:carbapenemase