Detection of Metallo-β-lactamase producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in clinical isolates from hospitals in Erbil city, Iraqi Kurdistan

Multidrug resistance (MDR) became a great concern in P. aeruginosa has appeared as issue of great concern with the emergence of Metallo-β-lactamases (MBL)-producing isolates, which showed to be the primary resistance mechanism in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa . The aim of the present study was to detect MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates from patients and evaluating antibiotic guide for clinicians in prescribing accurate antibiotic and to further controlling hospital infections. A total of 98 consecutive isolates of P. aeruginosa causing infections were isolated from various clinical samples. We applied Vitek-2 automated system as a panel of antimicrobial agents. Imipenem-EDTA combined disk test (CDT) and modified Hodge test (MHT) for phenotypic detection of MBL-producing isolates were followed. Out of 98 isolates of P.aeruginosa , only 72 isolates (73%) showed IMP-resistance and 26 (26%) were sensitive to imipenem. Around 63 (87.5%) of the IMP-resistant isolates were able to produce MBLs as determined by CDT, while 30 (41.6%) showed positive results in MHT. The resistance to tested antibiotics was significantly higher (P u003c0.001) with MBL producing P. aeruginosa isolates compared to non-MBL producers. The prevalence of MDR to the antibiotics among MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates was established. CDT is a reliable screening test for the detection of MBL producer