Multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms that produce the New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) enzyme are important infectious agents and colonizers in the hospital environment. Most species producing the enzyme are enterobacteria, mainly Klebsiella spp. That said, the objective of this work was to compare enzyme-producing strains belonging to the genus Klebsiella spp. and other genera, aiming to identify differences and similarities in antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. Retrospective descriptive study, with data on etiologic agent, antibiogram, and whether the presence of the pathogen was considered infection or colonization, according to the medical record, of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital who had a positive culture for an MDR microorganism producing the NDM enzyme between 2022 and 2024. Data were arranged in a spreadsheet and divided into two groups according to etiologic agents: Klebsiella spp. and other microorganisms. Comparisons were established by chi-square test. There were 57 records of positive cultures in 50 patients. Of these, 75.44% were infections and 24.56% colonizations. According to the literature, Klebsiella pneumoniae is the MDR most associated with enzyme production and, in this study, the genus Klebsiella spp. represents 57.89% of the sample. Regarding the antibiogram, 87.72% of the sample was susceptible to amikacin, being a viable therapeutic option. Regarding resistance, 96.49% of MDR in the sample were characterized as resistant to beta-lactams and 78.95% resistant to carbapenems, a finding that goes against the literature, and in addition, there were also high resistance rates to quinolones (80.70%) and gentamicin (47.37%). When comparing the Klebsiella spp. group and other microorganisms, the Klebsiella spp. group was more resistant to quinolones (p = 0.03) and there was no significant difference for the other antimicrobials. The study findings reinforce the prominence of Klebsiella spp. in NDM enzyme production, especially in infection cases. A high resistance profile to antimicrobials commonly used in the hospital environment is noted in both groups, with particular emphasis on the resistance of the Klebsiella spp. group to quinolones, contributing to understanding the resistance profile of such MDR in the region where the study was conducted.
Tech et al. (Sun,) studied this question.