Frequency and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated From Wound Samples in Isfahan, Iran

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most important opportunistic enteric bacteria and is a major cause of pneumonia and urinary tract infection. In addition, the serotype capsules of K۱ and K۲ can cause intense diseases. Further, the acquisition of plasmid that codes the production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) confers K. pneumoniae resistance on a number of broad-spectrum antibiotics posing a global public health problem. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify ۱۲۰ K. pneumoniae isolates that were detected from infected wound samples in Isfahan hospitals in Iran. Methods: Capsular serotypes and antibiotic resistance genes were studied in ۱۲۰ isolates of K. pneumoniae from different clinical cases in Isfahan, Iran. To this end, the frequency of resistance genes at the presence of specific primers was examined and all resistant isolates were tested for the detection of capsular serotypes genes using special primers. Results: The results demonstrated that ۱۲۰ isolates had serotype K۲ with the redundancy of ۷۸% and most cases had serotype K۵ with the redundancy of ۶۳%. Based on the results, aac (۳)-IV gene was observed in most isolates with the redundancy of ۵۴.۱% and tetA with the redundancy of ۷۵.۸۶%. In this study, the highest resistance belonged to ceftazidime (۷۴.۳%), ciprofloxacin (۷۸.۵%), and tetracycline (۷۲). Furthermore, the results revealed that serotype K۲ is one of the most important serotypes of K. pneumonia. Finally, there seems to be a strong relationship between the presence of integron and increased resistance to different antibiotics. Conclusions: In general, this was the first extensive study regarding the distribution and antimicrobial resistant profile of K. pneumoniae and related genes. Therefore, the continued monitoring of the antimicrobial resistance establishment of a surveillance system is urgently needed to prevent further dissemination in Iran.