Bloodstream Infections in South of Iran: Prevalence and Antibiotic-Resistant Patterns of Vancomycin Resistant Entrococci Isolates

Background and Objectives: Enterococcal infections cause to significant morbidity and mortality in patients especially in developing countries particularly those caused by strains of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) .Infections with these isolates are more difficult to treat than ordinary ones, The aims of this study were to detect the prevalence and the antimicrobial resistance patterns of VRE isolates.Methods: In this retrospective study, positive blood samples were analyzed from March 2014 to August 2018. Samples from Nemazee Teaching Hospital were forwarded to Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Center. Colonies were further characterized using various biochemical tests including catalase reaction, oxidase reaction, growth on bile esculine (BE) agar, growth in the presence of 6.5% NaCl, growth at 45°C, motility, pyrrolidonylarylamidase (PYR), yellow pigment, arginine dihydrolase (ADH) and sugar fermentation tests (glucose, mannitol, sorbose, arabinose, sorbitol, raffinose, sucrose, pyruvate). Also isolates were examined for reduced vancomycin susceptibility by 6 μg/ml vancomycin agar incorporation Results: In our study, out of 382 Entrococci, 69% were VRE. Linezolid highest effectiveness against gram positive bacteria. Significant resistance to other antibiotic were seen.104Conclusion: In our study, the emergence of potentially highly resistant isolates such as VRE strains is alarming, so, regular monitoring of antimicrobial drug resistance in different hospitals is necessary to prevent the uncontrolled consumption wrong choices.

Keywords:

Bloodstream , bacterial infections , antibiotic resistance , VRE