Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella sp. one of the main etiological agents of urinary and respiratory tract infections in infants at southeastern Mexico

Goals. The purpose of the work was to determine the Klebsiella species affecting hospitalized infants at southeastern Mexico, their antimicrobial susceptibility profile, the resistance phenotype, and the presence of ESBL enzymes. Methodology. From 2015 to 2020, a total of 794 records of bacteriological cultures positive to Klebsiella spp. were included. The frequencies of bacterial species, the biological material from which they were isolated, the age groups affected, the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, the resistance phenotype, and the detection of ESBL enzymes were obtained. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis, with a significance level of p≤0.05. Contribution. K. pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae was the most frequent bacteria isolated from urine, blood and bronchial aspirate samples. Most of them were resistant to beta-lactams and cephalosporins, in addition to exhibiting the MDR phenotype associated with the presence of ESBL enzymes. The susceptibility of the strains to meropenem and ertapenem indicates that carbapenems are the treatment alternative to combat these nosocomial infections in infants at southeastern Mexico.