Genotypic characterisation and antimicrobial resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from patients of different hospitals and medical centres from Poland

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p><jats:bold>Background:</jats:bold> <jats:italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </jats:italic>is a Gram-negative bacteria responsible for infections in immunocompromised patients and is one of the most common causes of nosocomial infections particularly in intensive care and burn units.<jats:italic> </jats:italic>We aimed to investigate the population structure of <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic> strains isolated from patients at different hospital wards. <jats:bold>Methods:</jats:bold> We analysed the possible presence of <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic> epidemic or endemic strains in hospitals of the selected region. A genotyping analysis was performed for 202 <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic> isolates collected from patients of eleven hospitals in north-western Poland. Collections of <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic> were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Phenotypic screening for antibiotic susceptibility was performed for the common antimicrobial agents.<jats:bold>Results:</jats:bold> <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic> isolates were distributed among 116 different pulsotype groups. We identified 30 groups of clonally related strains, each containing from 2 to 17 isolates and typed the obtained 13 unique patterns, designated as A, D, E, J, K, M, N, Ó, P, T, X, AC, AD, and AH. The two largest clusters, D and E, contained 17 and 13 isolates, respectively. Strains of these groups were continuously isolated from patients at intensive care units and burn units, indicating transmission of these strains. <jats:bold>Conclusions: </jats:bold>In this study, we demonstrate the clonal relatedness of <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic> strains and their constant exchange in hospitals over a period of 15 months.<jats:italic> </jats:italic>The obtained results indicate a predominantly<jats:italic> </jats:italic>non-clonal structure of <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic>.</jats:p>