Intestinal Carriage of Extended-spectrum β-lactamase and Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Hemodialysis Patients

Gastrointestinal colonization with resistant pathogens is significant because they could be easily transmitted to other hosts or spread to different microbiota through mobile genetic elements.

This study assessed the prevalence of fecal carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing and carbapenemaseproducing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E and CPE, respectively) among hemodialysis patients and the factors affecting its occurrence in a hospital in Tehran.

From January 2018 to May 2019, 150 hemodialysis patients referred to a hospital in Tehran were sampled in this study. Stool samples of the patients were diluted in saline and cultured on MacConkey agar plates containing cefotaxime, ceftazidime, imipenem, and meropenem discs. The clinical data were analyzed to identify the risk factors using a logistic regression model.

The colonization rate of ESBL-E was 48.6%, while only 2% of patients were identified as the carriers of CPE (3 of 150). A higher prevalence rate was obtained for intestinal carriage of ESBL-E among hemodialysis patients aged 18 to 42 years using multivariate analysis. The prevalence rate of multidrug-resistant isolates was 73.8%. The blaCTX-M1 gene was identified as the most prevalent ESBL gene. Among carbapenemase-encoding genes, blaKPC and blaoxa-48 were found in 12 and two isolates, respectively.

These results demonstrated a high prevalence rate of ESBLs among hemodialysis patients, although this rate was low for carbapenemases. Therefore, more control measures should be taken in hospitals to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in healthcare settings.