title: Occurrence of Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 in hospitals of Silesia, Poland.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is an important healthcare-associated pathogen, responsible for a broad spectrum of diarrheal diseases. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the occurrence of C. difficile infection (CDI), to characterize cultured C. difficile strains and to investigate the association of fecal lactoferrin with CDI. Between January 2013 and June 2014, 148 stool samples were obtained from adult diarrheal patients (C. difficile as a suspected pathogen) hospitalized in different healthcare facilities of 15 Silesian hospitals. Out of 134 isolated C. difficile strains, 108 were ribotyped: 82.4% belonged to Type 027, 2.8% to Type 176, 2.8% to Type 014, 1.9% to Type 010 and 0.9% to Types 001, 018, 020 and 046 each. In total, 6.5% non-typable strains were identified. All Type 027 isolates contained both toxin genes tcdA & tcdB, and binary toxin genes (cdtA &cdtB). Susceptibility testing revealed that all Type 027 isolates were sensitive to metronidazole and vancomycin and resistant to moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, imipenem and erythromycin. Of 89 Type 027 strains, 16 had a ermB (688 bp) gene coinciding with high levels of erythromycin resistance (MIC >256 μg/mL). Of 16 ermB positive strains, 14 demonstrated also high level of resistance to clindamycin (>256 μg/mL). A significant difference (p = 0.004) in lactoferrin level was found between C. difficile toxin-positive (n = 123; median 185.9 μg/mL; IQR 238.8) and toxin-negative (n = 25; median 22.4 μg/mL; IQR 141.7) fecal samples. Stool samples from n = 89 patients with CDI caused by Type 027 demonstrated significantly higher (p = 0.03) lactoferrin level (median 173.0 μg/mL; IQR 237.3) than from patients with CDI caused by other ribotypes and non-typable C. difficile strains (median 189.4 μg/mL; IQR 190.8).
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aptekorz
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szczegielniak
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Poland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wiechuła
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Celine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harmanus
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuijper
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Poland. Electronic address: gmartir@sum.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Gayane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martirosian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D021521:Ribotyping; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D007781:Lactoferrin
keywords: CDI; Clostridium difficile; Fecal lactoferrin; PCR RT 027; Silesia Poland