Predominance of blaKPC carbapenemase gene in multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from ICUs and surgical wards in Egypt

Background: The last-resort classes of antibiotics with the best success in treating severe Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections caused by drug-resistant P. aeruginosa are carbapenems. So, we aimed to assess the frequency of carbapenem-resistant genes in P. aeruginosa. Methods The samples isolated from critically ill patients at Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and Surgical Wards in Minia, Egypt were examined to produce imipenem-resistant genes phenotypically by Modified Hodge test (MHT) and Modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM) test and genotypically by PCR. Results: Fifty isolates (64%) of P. aeruginosa were resistant to carbapenems (imipenem and meropenem). Of which: 16 (32%) were (MHT) positive and 26 (52 %) were (mCIM)-positive. Regarding resistance genes, blaIMP, blaVIM, and blaKPC were detected in 14%, 20%, and 48% of the carbapenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) isolates; respectively, while blaGIM, blaSIM, blaNDM-1 and blaSPM-1 were not detected. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of multi-drug resistant MDR strains of P. aeruginosa, Doctors should pay attention to carbapenem resistance. CRPA isolates were detected phenotypically with mCIM test which is much more sensitive than MHT and genotypically with blaKPC gene being the most frequently detected gene