Multiple Drug Resistance Patterns in Various Phylogenetic Groups of Hospital-Acquired Uropathogenic E. coli Isolated from Cancer Patients

Abstract

Cancer patients are more susceptible to several bacterial infections, particularly urinary tract infections caused by uropathogenic <i>E. coli</i> (UPEC). The objective of this work was detection and the phylogenetic characterization of hospital-acquired isolates of uropathogenic <i>E. coli</i> in cancer patients and the determination of its relation with antibiotic resistance. A total of 110 uropathogenic <i>E. coli</i> responsible for hospital-acquired urinary tract infections in cancer patients were included in this study. A triplex PCR was employed to segregate different isolates into four different phylogenetic groups (A, B1, B2 and D). Drug resistance was evaluated by the disc diffusion method. All of the isolates were multiple drug-resistant (MDR) and 38.18% of all UPEC isolates were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers from which 52% were positive for the <i>bla</i>CTX-M gene, 40% for the <i>bla</i>TEM gene, and 17% for the <i>bla</i>SHVgene. Among 42 ESBL-producing uropathogenic <i>E. coli</i> isolates, the majority belonged to phylogenetic group B2 (43%), followed by group D (36%), group A (19%) and group B1 (2%). Our results have shown the emergence of MDR isolates among uropathogenic <i>E. coli</i> with the dominance of phylogenetic group B2. Groups A and B1 were relatively less common. The most effective drug in all phylogenetic groups was imipenem.