Objective:The emergence of polymyxin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(KPN)in clinical settings necessitates an analysis of its antibiotic resistance characteristics,epidemiological features,and risk factors for its development.This study aims to provide insights for the prevention and control of polymyxin-resistant KPN infections. Methods:Thirty clinical isolates of polymyxin-resistant KPN were collected from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University.Their antibiotic resistance profiles were analyzed.The presence of carbapenemase KPC,OXA-48,VIM,IMP,and NDM was detected using colloidal gold immunochromatography.Hypervirulent KPN was initially screened using the string test.Biofilm formation capacity was assessed using crystal violet staining.Combination drug susceptibility tests(polymyxin B with meropenem,tigecycline,cefoperazone/sulbactam)were conducted using the checkerboard method.Polymyxin-related resistance genes were detected by PCR.Multi-locus sequence typing(MLST)was performed for genotyping and phylogenetic tree construction.The study also involved collecting data from carbapenem-resistant(CR)-KPN polymyxin-resistant strains(23 strains,experimental group)and CR-KPN polymyxin-sensitive strains(57 strains,control group)to analyze potential risk factors for polymyxin-resistant KPN infection through univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression.The induction of resistance by continuous exposure to polymyxin B and colistin E was also tested. Results:Among the 30 polymyxin-resistant KPN isolates,28 were CR-KPN,all producing KPC enzyme.Four isolates were positive in the string test.Most isolates showed strong biofilm formation capabilities.Combination therapy showed additive or synergistic effects.All isolates carried the pmrA and phoP genes,while no mcr-1 or mcr-2 genes were detected.MLST results indicated that ST11 was the predominant type.The phylogenetic tree suggested that polymyxin-resistant KPN had not caused a hospital outbreak in the institution.The use of two or more different classes of antibiotics and the use of polymyxin were identified as independent risk factors for the development of polymyxin-resistant strains.Continuous use of polymyxin induced drug resistance. Conclusion:Polymyxin-resistant KPN is resistant to nearly all commonly used antibiotics,making polymyxin-based combination therapy a viable option.No plasmid-mediated polymyxin-resistant KPN has been isolated in the hospital.Polymyxin can induce resistance in KPN,highlighting the need for rational antibiotic use in clinical settings to delay the emergence of resistance.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of the common pathogens isolated from urine from 2015 to 2021 in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program.Methods The bacterial strains were isolated from urine and identified routinely in 51 hospitals across China in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Bauer method,automatic microbiological analysis system and E-test according to the unified protocol.Results A total of 261 893 nonduplicate strains were isolated from urine specimen from 2015 to 2021,of which gram-positive bacteria accounted for 23.8％(62 219/261 893),and gram-negative bacteria 76.2％(199 674/261 893).The most common species were E.coli(46.7％),E.faecium(10.4％),K.pneumoniae(9.8％),E.faecalis(8.7％),P.mirabilis(3.5％),P.aeruginosa(3.4％),SS.agalactiae(2.6％),and E.cloacae(2.1％).The strains were more frequently isolated from inpatients versus outpatients and emergency patients,from females versus males,and from adults versus children.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae and P.mirabilis was 53.2％,52.8％and 37.0％,respectively.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii was 1.7％,18.5％,16.4％,and 40.3％,respectively.Lower than 10％of the E.faecalis isolates were resistant to ampicillin,nitrofurantoin,linezolid,vancomycin,teicoplanin and fosfomycin.More than 90％of the E.faecium isolates were ressitant to ampicillin,levofloxacin and erythromycin.The percentage of strains resistant to vancomycin,linezolid or teicoplanin was＜2％.The E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii strains isolated from ICU inpatients showed significantly higher resistance rates than the corresponding strains isolated from outpatients and non-ICU inpatients.Conclusions E.coli,Enterococcus and K.pneumoniae are the most common pathogens in urinary tract infection.The bacterial species and antimicrobial resistance of urinary isolates vary with different populations.More attention should be paid to antimicrobial resistance surveillance and reduce the irrational use of antimicrobial agents.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with nocardiosis, so as to improve the diagnosis and treatment of nocardia infection in the future.Methods:From May 2016 to October 2020, 24 patients with nocardiosis in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University were enrolled, and their clinical data including clinical features, laboratory examinations, imaging findings, diagnosis and treatment process, and outcome were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among the 24 patients with nocardiosis, 18 cases (75.0%) were males, and the median age was 54.5 years.Twenty-three patients had underlying diseases, of which the most common disease was antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related vasculitis (16.7%(4/24)). Of nine species of Nocardia identified from the 24 patients, Nocardia farcinica was the most common species (seven cases). The lesion sites were mainly lungs (70.8%(17/24)), skin and soft tissues (42.0%(10/24)), brain (25.0%(6/24)) and blood system (17.0%(4/24)). There were 12 cases (50.0%) of patients with more than two lesion sites. The clinical manifestations, imaging examinations and laboratory tests of the 24 patients were not specific. The diagnosis depended on the etiology. Nineteen patients received trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-based combination therapy, and two were discontinued due to adverse reactions of sulfa drugs. After treatment, 19 cases (79.2%) were improved and five cases (20.8%) died. Conclusions:Patients with nocardiosis often have atypical clinical manifestations, and multiple organs are easily affected.Early and accurate identification and rapid and effective anti-biotic therapy are the keys to improve the overall prognosis of these patients.

To investigate the relationship of biofilm-forming ability of (PA) with swimming motility, twitching motility and virulence gene distribution. A total of 192 clinical isolates of PA were collected consecutively. Microtiter plate method was used to evaluate the ability to form biofilm. The swimming and twitching motilities were detected by plate method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect virulence genes. Of the 192 PA clinical isolates, 186 (96.9%) showed biofilm-forming ability. Among them, 36 isolates showed weak biofilm-forming ability, 84 exhibited moderate biofilm-forming ability and 66 showed strong biofilm-forming ability. The diameters of the swimming ring for PA with none biofilm-forming ability, weak biofilm-forming ability, moderate biofilm-forming ability, strong biofilm-forming ability were (9.12±6.76), (18.42±7.51), (19.10±4.77) and respectively. The diameters of the twitching ring for PA in above groups were (8.38±1.50), (17.21±7.42), (18.49±5.62) and respectively. The swimming motility and twitching motility of none biofilm-forming ability group were weaker than biofilm-forming ability groups (all <0.05). Among 192 PA strains, 163 were positive (84.9%), 40 were positive (20.8%), 183 were positive (95.3%), and 189 were positive (98.4%). The positive rate of PA virulence gene , and were different in strains with different biofilm-forming abilities (<0.05). The rate of in the strong biofilm-forming ability group was lower than that in the moderate biofilm-forming ability group (=9.293, <0.01) and the weak biofilm-forming ability group (=9.997, <0.01). The rate of in the strong biofilm-forming ability group was higher than that in the weak biofilm-forming ability group (=10.803, <0.01). Most clinical isolates of PA can form biofilm. Swimming and twitching motilities are related to the formation of biofilm, but not significantly related to strength of biofilm-forming ability. The virulence genes of type Ⅲ secretion system for PA may be related to the biofilm-forming ability.
Biofilms ; Humans ; Swimming ; Virulence/genetics*

Objective: To explore the improvement rate of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who received entecavir alone or in combination with anluohuaxianwan for 78 weeks. Methods: Patients with chronic HBV infection were randomly treated with entecavir alone or in combination with anluohuaxian for 78 weeks. Ishak fibrosis score was used for blind interpretation of liver biopsy specimens. The improvement in liver fibrosis condition before and after the treatment was compared. Student's t test and non-parametric test (Mann-Whitney U-Test and Kruskal-Wallis test) were used to analyze the measurement data. The categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-square test method and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to test bivariate associations. Results: Liver fibrosis improvement rate after 78 weeks of treatment was 36.53% (80/219) and the progression rate was 23.29% (51/219). The improvement of liver fibrosis was associated to the degree of baseline fibrosis and treatment methods (P < 0.05). The improvement rate of hepatic fibrosis in patients treated with anluohuaxianwan combined with entecavir at baseline F < 3 (54.74%, 52/95) was significantly higher than that in patients treated only with entecavir (33.33%, 16/48), P = 0.016 and the progression rate of hepatic fibrosis (13.68%, 13/95) was lower than that in patients treated alone (18.75%, 9/48), P = 0.466. In patients with baseline F < 3, the proportion of patients with improved and stable liver fibrosis in the combined treatment group (68.1%, 32/47) was higher than that in the treatment group alone (51.7%, 15/29). Conclusion Combined anluohuaxianwan and entecavir treatment can significantly improve the improvement rate of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Furthermore, it has the tendency to improve the stability rate and reduce the rate of progression of liver fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the phylogenetics and prevalence of bloodstream infections with ST131, the antimicrobial resistance profiles of the pathogens, and the clinical features. METHODS: Non-duplicate isolates were collected from 144 patients with bloodstream infections in our hospital between January and December, 2016.The phylogenetic groups of the isolates were analyzed using multiplex PCR, and O serotyping of ST131 strains was performed by allele-specific PCR.The clinical characteristics of the 144 patients were analyzed to define the differences in the clinical features between patients with ST131 infection and those with non-ST131 infection.Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was determined using the Vitek 2 compact system. RESULTS: The phylogenetic group analysis showed a domination by group B2 (41.0%[59/144]), followed by group F, group B1 and group E, which accounted for 16.7%(24/144), 13.9%(20/144), and 13.2% (19/144), respectively.Nine strains (6.3%) of were identified to be ST131 strains, among which 8 were O25b-B2-ST131 strains and 1 was O16-B2-ST131 strain.Of the 9 cases of ST131 infection, 7(77.8%) were found to occur in a nosocomial setting.The demographic characteristics and clinical features of the ST131-infected patients were similar to those of non-ST131-infected patients.ST131 strains were sensitive to piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem, ertapenem, and amikacin, but showed high resistance rates to cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, gentamicin, and trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole (all over 50%).The positivity rate of ESBLs in the ST131 strains was 77.8%, and the multidrug resistance rate reached 88.9%, which was higher than that of non-ST131 isolates, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The most common phylogenetic groups of isolates from patients with bloodstream infections are group B2 and F, and the positivity rate of ST131 is low.We for the first time detected O16-ST131 in patients with blood-borne infections in China.The clinical features of ST131-infected patients are similar to those of non-ST131-infected patients.The positivity rate of ESBLs and the multidrug resistance rate are high in ST131 strains, which may raise concerns in the future.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Bacteremia ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; China ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Escherichia coli ; classification ; drug effects ; genetics ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Genotype ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Phylogeny ; Species Specificity

Objective:To investigate relationship between AdeABC efflux pump and resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii against carbapenem.Methods:Carbapenem-resistant strains were acquired from multistep selection resistance test by meropenem in vitro.The quantitation test for sensitivities of strains before and after induction was determined by the E-test,and carbonylcyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) inhibition test was used to screen efflux pump.PCR,sequencing analysis,or real-time PCR was used to analyze the changes of regulatory genes adeR and adeS of the AdeABC efflux pump system,or expressions of adeA,adeB,adeR,and adeS in the strains before and after induction,respectively.Results:The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of meropenem were at 0.38 μg/mL and 0.25 μg/mL in parental sensitive strain S25595 and S7257,respectively,and the MICs of meropenem for both S25595 and S7257 after induction were more than 32 μg/mL.Compared with parental sensitive strains,the expression level of adeA,adeB,adeR,and adeS mRNA were elevated from 2.45 to 9.44 times,but there were no gene mutations or insertion sequences in the regulatory gene adeS and adeR.Conclusion:High expression of the AdeABC efflux pump system in Acinetobacter baumannii is closely associated with meropenem resistance,The upregulation of adeA and adeB expression is not due to gene mutations in the regulatory gene adeS and adeR and other mechanisms might account for it.

Objective To investigate the drug resistant mechanism and homology of three strains of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (K.pneumoniae) isolated from different sites of one patient.Methods Three strains of carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae were isolated from femoral vein catheter tip,wound secretions and sputum of a patient with severe burns,respectively.Their carbapenemase,metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) and drug resistance genes were detected by modified Hodge test,double-disk synergy test and combination disk diffusion and PCR,respectively,and homology and biological typing were analyzed by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) assay and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) technology,respectively.Results The carbapenemase and MBL of three strains of carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae were negative and positive,respectively.The blaNDM-1 gene was identified from the three strains,but other drug resistance genes such as blanC,blaGES,blaIMP,blaSPM,blaVIM,blaGIM and blaOXA-48 were not detected.ERIC-PCR showed that three isolates belonged to the same genotype,and MLST showed that they were type ST17.Conclusion Carring blaNDM-1 gene is the main cause leading to the drug resistance of three strains of carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,and they belong to the same genotype.

Objective To study the relationship between biofilm-forming ability,distribution of quorum sensing related genes and antibiotic resistance in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Methods The biofilm-forming ability of 94 clinical isolates was analyzed semi-quantitatively by crystal violet staining.The antibiotic resistance of the isolates was determined by K-B method.Quorum sensing related genes,lasI,lasR,rhlR and rhlI,were detected by PCR.The diffe,rences of drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with different biofilm-forming ability and the effects of quorum sensing related genes on biofilm-forming ability were analyzed.Results Of the 94 isolates,89(94.7％) showed biofilm-forming ability.The 89 isolates consisted of 22(23.4％) isolates with weakly positive biofilm-forming ability,44 (46.8 ％) with positive biofilm-forming ability and 23 (24.5 ％) with strongly positive biofilm-forming ability.The strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with different biofilm-forming ability showed different drug resistance rates to amikacin,tobramycin and gentamicin (P ＜ 0.05).The drug resistance rate of the strains with strong positive biofilm-forming ability to amikacin was higher than that of the strains with positive and weakly positive biofilm-forming ability(P ＜ 0.05),and the drug resistance rates to tobramycin and gentamicin were higher than those of the strains with weakly positive biofilm-forming ability(P ＜ 0.05).Of the 94 isolates,91 strains carried lasI,lasR,rhlI and rhlR gene and 2 strains only lost lasR gene,and 1 strain lost all the 4 genes.The strains with only lasR gene deficiency or all the lasI,lasR,rhlI and rhlR gene deficiencies showed negative biofilm-forming ability,and were sensitive to conventional antimicrobial agents.Conclusion Most of the clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in this study showed strong ability of biofilm-forming ability which may correlate positively to partial antibiotic resistance.The quorum sensing related genes may affect biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Objective To understand clinical distribution and antimicrobial resistance of clinically isolated Serratia marcescens(S .marcescens ),and provide basis for rational use of antimicrobial agents,as well as prevention and control of infection.Methods 427 S .marcescens strains isolated between January 1 ,2012 and December 31 ,2015 were analyzed,antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed by disk diffusion method.Results 427 S . marcescens strains were mainly from respiratory tract (70.26%),among which the majority were from sputum (64.87%).S .marcescens were primarily from intensive care unit(ICU,19.44%),department of integrated tradi-tional Chinese and Western medicine(15.46%)as well as rehabilitation department (13.58%).The resistance rates of S .marcescens to cefoperazone/sulbactam,ertapenem,cefepime,ceftazidime,amikacin,imipenem,levofloxacin, and piperacillin/tazobactam were all<10%;resistance rates to ciprofloxacin,gentamicin,tobramycin,ceftriaxone, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (SMZ/TMP),and aztreonam were 10%-30%.Difference in the resistance rates of S .marcescens to cefoperazone/sulbactam,ciprofloxacin,ceftriaxone,amikacin,aztreonam,and SMZ/TMP dur-ing 4 years were statistically significant (P <0.05).In 2012-2013,resistance rates of S .marcescens to cefopera-zone/sulbactam,ciprofloxacin,ceftriaxone,aztreonam,and SMZ/TMP increased obviously,then resistance rates tend to be stable,while resistance rates to cefoperazone/sulbactam decreased.Conclusion Susceptibility of S.marcescens to most antimicrobial agents are high,but resistance had increasing tendency;susceptible rates of S .marcescens to ertapenem,ceftazidime,levofloxacin,and piperacillin/tazobactam are all high,and can be used as the empirical medication for the treatment of related infection.