RAPD PCR Profile, Antibiotic Resistance, Prevalence of <i>armA</i> Gene, and Detection of KPC Enzyme in <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> Isolates

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> strains isolated from hospitals shows the limitation of recent antibiotics used for bacterial eradication. In this study, 81 <i>K. pneumoniae</i> isolates were collected from three hospitals in Tehran. Antibiotic susceptibility test showed the highest rates of resistance to cefotaxim (85.5%) and ceftazidime (78.3%), and the lowest rates of resistance were detected for colistin (16.9%), streptomycin (16.8%), and chloroamphenicol (21.7%). Eleven different resistance patterns were observed. Sixty-six out of 81 isolates (81.5%) were found to be multidrug resistant (MDR), and 35.8% of them belonged to A3 resistance pattern. 7.4% and 66.7% were KPC enzyme and <i>armA</i> gene positive, respectively. RAPD PCR assay of these bacteria showed 5 clusters, 16 single types, and 14 common types, and there was not any correlation between genetic patterns of the isolates and presence of resistance agents. Simultaneous detection of resistance-creating agents could be an important challenge for combination therapy of MDR <i>K. pneumoniae</i>-caused infections.