OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) isolated from burn patients wounds and its mobile genetic elements, including plasmid, transposon, and integron.

METHODSThirty-two strains of PA were isolated from wounds exudate of hospitalized burn patients in Ningbo No. 2 Hospital. PA drug sensitivity was determined using GNS-448 drug sensitivity card and K-B tests. The genetic markers of plasmid, transposon and integron including traA, traF, tnpA, tnpU, merA, int I 1 were amplified by PCR and verified by gene sequencing.

RESULTSDrug resistant rate of 32 PA strains to gentamicin, amikacin, cefoperazone/sulbactam, ciprofloxacin was 43.7%, 32.0%, 46.8%, 49.9%, respectively. PA drug resistant rates to piperacillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, cefepime, aztreonam, piperacillin/tazobactam, levofloxacin, imipenem and meropenem were all above 56.0%. Seventeen out of 32 PA strains were found to carry transposon and (or) integron genetic markers. One strain was positive for both tnpA and merA, 8 strains were positive for both merA and int I 1, 1 strain was only positive for tnpA, 2 strains were only positive for merA, and 5 strains were positive for int I 1 only.

CONCLUSIONSPA isolated from burn wounds of hospitalized patients in Ningbo No. 2 Hospital is seriously drug resistant, which may relate with its high positive rate of mobile genetic elements of transposon and (or) integron.