Find in Library

This study investigated the prevalence of <i>Klebsiella</i> (<i>K</i>.) <i>pneumoniae</i> isolates among clinical samples of patients in four medical centers in Lagos, Nigeria and the burden of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) and carbapenem-resistant <i>K. pneumoniae</i> (CRKP) strains. Different samples (stool, blood, urine, wound swabs and nasal swabs) from 127 patients with suspected Gram-negative infections based on on-site performed Gram-stain from four public hospitals between March and September 2015 were analyzed. <i>K. pneumoniae</i> was identified in 43 (34%) patients. Resistance rates of these 43 strains according to the CLSI breakpoints were as followed: cotrimoxazole (90.7%), cefuroxime (74.4%), ofloxacin (55.8%), ceftazidime (46.5%), and cefixime (35%). Three isolates (7%) were resistant to imipenem. All isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and nitrofurantoin. The prevalence of ESBL-producing, MDR and CRKP strains was 69.8%, 62.8%, and 7.0%, respectively. Of the ESBL-producing isolates, two <i>K. pneumoniae</i> isolates obtained from urine harbored both <i>bla</i>_SHV and <i>bla</i>_CTX-M-1, and a third isolate from urine harbored only the <i>bla</i>_CTX-M-1. This study revealed the emergence of CRKP isolates and <i>bla</i>_CTX-M-1 and <i>bla</i>_SHV co-harboring <i>K. pneumoniae</i> strains in Lagos hospitals. The emergence of CRKP strains is an early warning signal for carbapenem antibiotics’ prudent use with concern for their efficacies.