Investigation of the Frequency of Plasmid-Dependent Quinolone Resistance Genes in Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Escherichia Coli Isolated from Surgical Site Infections

In recent years, the rate of antibiotic resistance has been increasing which has led to the limitation of ways to control hospital infections (especially surgical site infections) and accurate treatment options. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine and investigate the frequency of plasmid-dependent quinolone resistance genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli isolated from surgical site infections.

The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 45 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli isolated from surgical site infections of patients hospitalized at Yasuj hospitals in 2018. After identifying the isolates, they were checked for resistance to quinolone drugs by diffusion method from agar disk. Then, quinolone resistant isolates were examined for the presence of qnrB, qnrA and qnrS genes using PCR method. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tests and SPSS version 25 software.

The highest rate of antibiotic resistance to Ciprofloxacin was 75.7%, and the rate of resistance to Levofloxacin and Ofloxacin were 73.3 and 62.2 percent, respectively; 24 (70.6%) isolates had at least one qnr gene, among these 24 isolates, 7 (20.6%) isolates contained qnrB gene, 4 (11.8%) isolates contained qnrA gene and 13 (2. 38 percent) isolates carried the qnrS gene. The results of the present study indicated the high prevalence of quinolone resistance due to plasmid (70.7%) among all isolates resistant to quinolones.

The final results of the present study indicated that the level of resistance to quinolone antibiotics in gram-negative bacteria isolated from surgical site infections had a high and significant prevalence, hence the use of appropriate treatment methods and correct and rational prescription antibiotics by physicians are correspondingly significant in their control.