Objective:To investigate the pathogen distribution, temporal trends in the rates of antimicrobial resistance, and susceptibility of bloodstream isolates and comparatively explore the epidemiological characteristics of bloodstream infections in hematology departments across 56 healthcare facilities in Guangdong Province from 2020 to 2024.Methods:A multicenter analysis was conducted to evaluate the constituent ratio of different pathogens isolated from clinical isolate data from bloodstream specimens in hematology, respiratory, and intensive care unit (ICU) departments across 56 healthcare facilities in Guangdong Province (2020-2024), and antimicrobial resistance trends in pathogens with high-detection rate over 5 years were assessed. Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms (CRO) were randomly sampled for carbapenemase gene detection and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility tests with novel antimicrobial agents.Results:From 2020 to 2024, a total of 8 968, 6 440, and 25 511 bloodstream isolates were identified in the hematology, respiratory, and ICU departments, respectively, across 56 participating facilities in Guangdong Province, with significant differences in the pathogen constituent ratio among departments ( P<0.001). Notably, the hematology department demonstrated a predominance of Escherichia coli (24.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.7%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (15.2%), and Staphylococcus aureus (5.1%). In the resistance analysis, the rates of meropenem resistance of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia increased from 6.7% and 5.8% (2020) to 14.0% and 15.8% (2024), respectively. Conversely, Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited a declining trend in the rate of meropenem resistance (6.2% to 1.9%) and imipenem (10.2% to 6.1%) during the same period. Acinetobacter baumannii demonstrated a biphasic resistance pattern to common antimicrobial agents, characterized by an initial decline, followed by a rebound. In this study, the susceptibility rates to conventional antimicrobial agents were significantly higher in Staphylococcus aureus versus coagulase-negative Staphylococci, with no glycopeptide- or linezolid-resistant strains detected. Notably, the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium increased from 0 in 2020 to 23.1% in 2024. CRO carbapenemase phenotypes through active surveillance revealed that 80% Escherichia coli isolates were carrying blaNDM, 90% Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were carrying blaKPC, 10% Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were carrying blaVIM, and 100% Acinetobacter baumannii were carrying blaOXA-23. The results of the antimicrobial susceptibility test in CRO revealed that carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (CRECO) demonstrated a 0 resistance rate to tigecycline, polymyxin B, and aztreonam/avibactam, whereas carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited a 0 resistance rate to aztreonam/avibactam, ceftazidime/avibactam, and imipenem/relebactam. Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited a 95.0% susceptibility rate to amikacin and polymyxin B, with a 45.0% resistance rate to ceftazidime/avibactam. In contrast, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii demonstrated complete susceptibility (100.0%) to sulbactam/durlobactam (MIC90=2 μg/ml), whereas eravacycline showed MIC50 and MIC90 values of 1 and 2 μg/ml, respectively. Conclusion:The pathogen constituent ratio of bloodstream isolates differed significantly among hematology, respiratory, and ICU departments. Notably, although CRO exhibited an escalating prevalence, it sustained high susceptibility to novel antimicrobial agents.

Objective:To investigate the pathogen distribution, temporal trends in the rates of antimicrobial resistance, and susceptibility of bloodstream isolates and comparatively explore the epidemiological characteristics of bloodstream infections in hematology departments across 56 healthcare facilities in Guangdong Province from 2020 to 2024.Methods:A multicenter analysis was conducted to evaluate the constituent ratio of different pathogens isolated from clinical isolate data from bloodstream specimens in hematology, respiratory, and intensive care unit (ICU) departments across 56 healthcare facilities in Guangdong Province (2020-2024), and antimicrobial resistance trends in pathogens with high-detection rate over 5 years were assessed. Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms (CRO) were randomly sampled for carbapenemase gene detection and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility tests with novel antimicrobial agents.Results:From 2020 to 2024, a total of 8 968, 6 440, and 25 511 bloodstream isolates were identified in the hematology, respiratory, and ICU departments, respectively, across 56 participating facilities in Guangdong Province, with significant differences in the pathogen constituent ratio among departments ( P<0.001). Notably, the hematology department demonstrated a predominance of Escherichia coli (24.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.7%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (15.2%), and Staphylococcus aureus (5.1%). In the resistance analysis, the rates of meropenem resistance of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia increased from 6.7% and 5.8% (2020) to 14.0% and 15.8% (2024), respectively. Conversely, Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited a declining trend in the rate of meropenem resistance (6.2% to 1.9%) and imipenem (10.2% to 6.1%) during the same period. Acinetobacter baumannii demonstrated a biphasic resistance pattern to common antimicrobial agents, characterized by an initial decline, followed by a rebound. In this study, the susceptibility rates to conventional antimicrobial agents were significantly higher in Staphylococcus aureus versus coagulase-negative Staphylococci, with no glycopeptide- or linezolid-resistant strains detected. Notably, the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium increased from 0 in 2020 to 23.1% in 2024. CRO carbapenemase phenotypes through active surveillance revealed that 80% Escherichia coli isolates were carrying blaNDM, 90% Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were carrying blaKPC, 10% Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were carrying blaVIM, and 100% Acinetobacter baumannii were carrying blaOXA-23. The results of the antimicrobial susceptibility test in CRO revealed that carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (CRECO) demonstrated a 0 resistance rate to tigecycline, polymyxin B, and aztreonam/avibactam, whereas carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited a 0 resistance rate to aztreonam/avibactam, ceftazidime/avibactam, and imipenem/relebactam. Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited a 95.0% susceptibility rate to amikacin and polymyxin B, with a 45.0% resistance rate to ceftazidime/avibactam. In contrast, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii demonstrated complete susceptibility (100.0%) to sulbactam/durlobactam (MIC90=2 μg/ml), whereas eravacycline showed MIC50 and MIC90 values of 1 and 2 μg/ml, respectively. Conclusion:The pathogen constituent ratio of bloodstream isolates differed significantly among hematology, respiratory, and ICU departments. Notably, although CRO exhibited an escalating prevalence, it sustained high susceptibility to novel antimicrobial agents.

Objective:To evaluate the epidemiology of bacterial bloodstream infections in patients submitted to hematologic wards in southern China.Methods:A total of 50 teaching hospitals were involved based on the China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System. The data of clinical isolates from blood samples were collected from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted by the Kirby-Bauer automated systems, and the results were interpreted using the CLSI criteria.Results:The data of 1,618 strains isolated from hematologic wards in 2019 were analyzed, of which gram-negative bacilli and gram-positive cocci accounted for 71.8% and 28.2%, respectively. Of those, the five major species were most often isolated, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, coagulase-negative staphylococcus, and Streptococcus viridans. The prevalence rates of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococcus were 19.7% and 80.6%, respectively. No gram-positive cocci were resistant to vancomycin, linezolid, and teicoplanin, and none of the enterococci were resistant to linezolid. The resistance rate of S. viridans to penicillin G was 6.9%, and those to ceftriaxone and cefotaxime were more than 25%. The resistance rate of E. coli and K. pneumoniae in Enterobacteriaceae was higher in children than that in adults. The resistance rate of K. pneumoniae to meropenem was 14.1%. The resistant rate of Enterobacter cloacae to carbapenem was more than 25%. P. aeruginosa was more sensitive to more antibiotics than 80%, but the resistance rate to meropenem in children was higher than that in adults (11.8% vs. 6.5%). The proportion of gram-positive cocci in the ICU and respiratory departments was higher than that in the hematology department. The detection rates of carbapenem-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae in the respiratory department were the lowest with 0.3% and 3.7%, respectively, while those of CRPA and CRAB in the hematology department were the lowest with 8.3% and 25.8%, respectively. The detection rate of all carbapenem-resistant organisms in the ICU was the highest among the three departments.Conclusion:The etiology and drug resistance of bacteria from blood samples in the hematology department are different from those in the ICU and respiratory departments. The proportions of K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, E. cloacae, and S. viridans dominating in the department of Hematology were significantly higher than those in the ICU and respiratory departments in Guangdong region.

Objeetive To explore the mechanism of drug resistance of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) producing Enterobacteriaceae,and to investigate the characteristics of blaNDM-1 carrying plasmid and its gene environment.Methods A total of 48 strains of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae were successively collected from six general hospitals in south China during August 2011 and January 2013.Escherichia coli J53 was used for plasmid conjugation.Modified Hodge test was performed,and PCR method was used for the detection of carbarpenase-related genes.The relative molecular mass of the blaNDM-1 carrying plasmid was determined using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)assay,and enzyme digestion was performed to investigate the homology and incompatibility group of the plasmid.Clinical feature of blaNDM-1 producing Enterobacteriaceae infection was also investigated.Results Among 48 strains of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae,43 were positive in modified Hodge tests.blaVIM,blaGIM and blaSPM genes were negative in all strains,while blaNDM-1 was positive in 19 strains including 3 strains of Escherichia coli,5 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae,6 strains of Enterobacter cloacae,3 strains of Citrobacterfreundii,1 strain of Klebsiella oxytoca and 1 strain of Providencia rettgeri.All the 19 strains were resistant to imipenem,cefotaxime,ceftazidime,cefepime,aztreonam and piperacillin/tazobactam,47.3％ strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin,but 68.4％ strains were sensitive to amikacin.Conjugation experiment showed that,blaNDM-1 carrying plasmids in 13 strains were transmitted to the Escherichia coli J53.The conjugants were resistant to imipenem,ceftazidime,cefotaxime and piperacillin/tazobactam,but were sensitive to amikacin,ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin.All genes in conjugant J-FR90 (Providencia rettgeri) were negative,while the remaining 12 conjugants carried blaNDM-1,blaSHV and aac-(6')-Ib genes.PFGE showed that,the sizes of all blaNDM-1 carrying plasmids were about 50 kb,and more than 80％ of their macrorestriction maps were similar.The plasmid belonged to incompatibility group IncX3,and exhibited 100％ passage stability after 500 generations of propagation.Among 19 patients infected with NDM-1 producing Enterobacteriaceae,6 died and 13 survived.Conclusions NDM-1 producing Enterobacteriaceae is emerging in south China,and blaNDM-1 is transmitted to Enterobacteriaceae through IncX3.Patients infected with NDM-1 producing Enterobacteriaceae usually have good prognosis.

Objective To study the molecular characteristic of the epidemic plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 in Guangzhou. Methods A total of 38 strains of E. coli and 47 strains of K. pneumoniae both producing CTX-M-15 ESBLs were collected from nine hospitals in Guangzhou from 2007 to 2008. The clonal relationship of isolates carrying blaCTX-M-15 was determined by PFGE and MLST. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by microdilution test for all isolates. Conjugative plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 were obtained by mating and were subject to restriction analysis. PCR was used to determine phylogenetic groups of E. coli,and to study replicon type and the genetic contexts of the plasmids harboring blaCTX-M-15. Serum agglutination test was used to detect the serotype of E. coli. Results The 37 strains of E. coli were classified into 28 genotypes, while the 47 strains of K. pneumoniae were divided into 30 genotypes. ST131 was found in E. coli but not O25 serotype. Two novel-alleles of tonB and new ST were determined in K. pneumoniae. Forty out of 58 isolates represented independent genotypes have been succeeded to transfer the plasmid carrying blaCTX-M-15 to the E. coli C600(Rif) by conjugation. The sizes of plasmids carrying blaCTX-M-15 are 65 kb in 57.9% isolates of E. coli and 92 kb in 87.5% isolates of K. pneumoniae. Two epidemic plasmids were detected in E.coli and K. pneumoniae by restriction enzyme, designated p15-e and p15-k respectively. The blaCTX-M-15 and ISEcpI were identified on p15-e, and the blaCTX-M-15 ,ISEcpI,aac(6')- Ⅰ b,aac(3')-Ⅲ ,blaOXA-1 ,qnrB,qnrS,blaDHA-1 , blaTEM-1 were determined on p15-k. The p15-k also was identified to belong to the incompatible group FⅡ. Conclusion The local dissemination of blaCTX-M-15 appears to be due to the spread of epidemic plasmids harboring blaCTX-M-15. No evidence supports the dissemination of clone strains which carried blaCTX-M-15.

Objective To investigate the impact on the resistance of carbapenem with the expression of OprD2 or OprD2 mutation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods One hundred and one clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MIC for imipenem ≥8 μg/ml were studied. MIC were determined by the broth microdilution method, and the antibiotics tested were imipenem(IPM ), biapenem( BPM), meropenem(MEM) and panipenem(PEM). The expression of the oprD2 gene in Pseudomonas aeruginosa were analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR(RT-PCR). For the Pseudomonas aeruginosa with normal expression of OprD2 and resistance to imipenem, full-length oprD2 gene was amplified by PCR and the products were sequenced. Results According to the result of the expression of oprD2 gene, 101 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were divided into two groups: group1 with diminished expression of OprD2, and group2 with normal expression of OprD2. Comparing isolates with MIC of 4 kinds of carbepenem agents ≥ 16 μg/ml in two groups. Data showed the amount of OprD2 expression were different between two groups(P ＜0.01 or P ＜ 0.05). In group1, there are 28 isolates with MIC ≥ 16 μg/ml of all the 4 kinds of carbapenems, among which 25 isolates have obviously diminished expression of OprD2 ( ＜ 0.4). Negative correlations tendency appeared between the level of OprD2 transcription and MICs of 4 kinds of carbepenem agents in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In group2, 16 strains with OprD2 mutation divided into 4 types according to the pattern of alteration. Compared with PAO1, these strains have increased MIC with different degree to IPM,BPM, MEM and PEM. Conclusion The deletion or diminished expression of OprD2 resulted in resistance to imipenem in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The level of OprD2 transcription and antimicrobial activities for carbapenem agents proved to be highly correlated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The mutation of OprD2 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa probably decreased the sensitivity of carbapenem agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Objective To evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of piperacillin-sulbactam against clinical isolates of non-fermentative bacilli isolated from common infections. Methods Microdilution was employed to study the antimicrobial resistance. Results A total of 770 strains were collected from 6 hospitals in Guangzhou, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia , Burkholderia cepacia , Flavobacterium , and Alcaligenes. Compared with other β-lactams,piperacillin-sulbactam displayed the highest activity against all the isolates of P. aeruginosa, especially for imipenem non-sensitive isolates, with the susceptibility of 71.9% and 55.8%, respectively. Piperacillinsulbactam and cefoperazone-sulbactam kept good activity against imipenem sensitive isolates of A. baumannii,with the susceptibility of 71.0% and 73. 0%, respectively. For the strains of Burkholderia cepacia, 69% strains exhibited minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≤ 16 mg/L for piperacillin-sulbactam. For the strains of Flavobacterium, and Alcaligenes, piperacillin-sulbactam also had excellent activity, with the susceptibility of 70. 2% and 94. 4%, respectively. Conclusion Piperacillin-sulbactam exhibits good activity again non-fermentative bacilli, especial for imipenem non-sensitive isolates of P. aeruginosa.