Clinical Characteristics and Molecular Insights of Carbapenem-Resistant Isolates from Patients in Intensive Care Units.

Carbapenem-resistant (CRKP), a significant worldwide public health threat, is common in patients in intensive care units. A retrospective study was conducted over a period of 22 months to assess the risk factors associated with infection caused by CRKP isolates. Strain identification was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and antimicrobial sensitivity was assessed using the micro broth dilution method and Kirby-Bauer test. The genes , , , , and were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by sequencing of the PCR products. The polymerase hypermucoviscosity phenotype was determined using the string test. Capsular serotypes (K1, K2) and presence of the virulence gene () in positive isolates were investigated using phenotypic tests followed by PCR. Length of hospitalization and use of carbapenems were associated with CRKP infection. CRKP isolates exhibited extensive drug resistance, but retained sensitivity to colistin and ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA). The main gene detected in 35 CRKP isolates was . In addition, 11 strains were positive in the string test, and two of these strains carried . Prolonged hospitalization and carbapenem exposure increased the risk of CRKP infection in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The prevalence of CRKP carrying the gene was high, and suspected hypervirulent carbapenem-resistant isolates were scattered.