Integron-associated Antibiotic Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Klebsiella from Karaj

In recent years, Multidrug resistance has been increasing among Klebsiella isolates. The aim of this study was to survey existence of integrons and its relation with antibiotic resistance among clinical isolates of Klebsiella. From Jun 2015 to May 2016, 129 Klebsiella isolates collected from Karaj hospitals and laboratories. Statistical population included 80.6% female and 19.4% male. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and ESBLs producer were screened. Integrons were detected using PCR. This study with research ethics code IR.IAU.K.REC.1396.16 has been approved by research ethics committee at Islamic Azad University of Karaj, Iran. The highest and lowest percentage of sensivity were found to ofloxacin (89.1%) and amoxcicillin (6.2%), respectively. 82.9% of isolates were resistant to more than two antibiotics from different classes. Among 129 isolates, 19.3% of the isolates harbour integrons. Frequencies of MDR among integron-positive isolates were 100%. Also, 71.3% and 28.7% of isolates were ESBLs positive and negative respectively. Results showed integron elements were prevalent among MDR isolates. Integron-associated resistance genes can be served as reservoirs of multi drug resistance within clinical isolates and presence of integron can be used as a marker to identify MDR isolates. Prevalence of ESBLs among clinical isolates of Klebsiella showed that antibiotics like ampicillin or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid are not effecvtive anymore in treatment of UTIs.