| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 30
| Issue : 1 | Page : 44-51 |
Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of multidrug-resistant enterococci isolated from clinical specimens
MM Salem-Bekhit1, IMI Moussa2, MM Muharram3, FK Alanazy4, HM Hefni5
1 Department of Pharmaceutics, Kayyali Chair for Pharmaceutical Industries, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2457, Saudi Arabia
2 Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, P. O. Box. 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
3 Salman Bin Abdulaziz University, Collage of Pharmacy, Saudi Arabia
4 Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
5 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Shaqra University, Egypt
Correspondence Address:
M M Salem-Bekhit
Department of Pharmaceutics, Kayyali Chair for Pharmaceutical Industries, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2457
Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0255-0857.93032
Purpose: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) pose an emerging problem in hospitals worldwide. The present study was undertaken to determine the occurrence, species prevalence, antibacterial resistance, and phenotypic and genetic characteristics of VRE isolated in Riyadh hospitals, KSA. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and six isolates of enterococcal species were obtained from clinical samples. The antibiotic susceptibility of isolates and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests for vancomycin and teicoplanin were determined. Molecular typing of VRE isolates was carried out by using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the resistance genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: VRE accounted for 3.9% of the isolates and were detected mostly in urine, wound and blood specimens isolated from ICU, internal medicine and surgical wards. All strains were identified to species level and were found to consist of E. faecalis (69.2%), E. faecium (11.3%), E. avium (2.1%), E. hirae (0.8%), E. casseliflavus (1.3%) and E. gallinarum (1.3%) species. According to the susceptibility data obtained, 8 (3.9%) out of 206 isolates were found to be VRE (MICs > 32 μg/ml). The vanA, vanB and vanC gene fragments of E. faecalis, E. faecium and E. gallinarum were amplified from isolates and were detected. PFGE patterns of the VRE isolates revealed homogenous patterns with dominant clone suggesting that the strains intrinsic resistance is independent. Conclusions: This study shows an emergence of VRE along with increased rate of multidrug-resistant enterococci in the area of the study. Regular surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibilities should be done regularly and the risk factors should be determined.
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