title: Microbial tracking of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in a pediatric hospital setting.
abstract: We investigated the clonal relatedness of seven multi-drug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, as well as three susceptible K. pneumoniae isolates collected during hospital outbreaks and outbreak-related microbiological surveillance, respectively. The relatedness among K. pneumoniae isolates was assessed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and automated repetitive-sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) genotyping and the results were compared to a proteomic phenotyping performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). All typing methods agreed on the generation of three different clusters of K. pneumoniae isogenetic/related MDR strains. After strengthening hospital infection control measures, no other spreading events involving MDR-K. pneumoniae were reported until the end of the observation period. This preliminary investigation suggests that, in a hierarchical approach to bacterial typing, MALDI-TOF MS proteome profiling might offer a fast and valuable preliminary screening tool able to support microbiologists during nosocomial outbreak surveys.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology, Bambino Gesu Childrens Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bernaschi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Del Chierico
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrucca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Argentieri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciofi Degli Atti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciliento
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carletti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muraca
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Locatelli
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Putignani
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005838:Genotype; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D012384:Rome / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents