Occurrence of carbapenem-resistant organisms in gastrointestinal postoperative infections: A therapeutic challenge

Dissemination of multidrug resistant organisms including Carbapenem-Resistant Organisms (CRO) in Hospitals is of global concern. Such nosocomial infections are more common during surgical procedures involving prolonged post-operative care and Hospital stay. Treatment options include administration of prophylactic antibiotics, which are broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, long-term administration of these antibiotics leads to an increase in the incidence of multidrug resistant organisms in Hospital sectors. To evaluate early detection of carbapenemase producing organisms from the clinical isolates of postoperative patients by carba NP test. The study was conducted at the diagnostic laboratory in clinical samples obtained from hospitalized patients. A total of 716 clinical samples were tested by employing basic microbiological and biochemical testing methods and the isolates were screened for antimicrobial susceptibility. Carbapenem-resistant isolates were then confirmed by E-test (imipenem, meropenem) and also via carba NP test.In a total of 716 samples, 257 tested positive for various microorganisms, of which 230 gram-negative bacilli were identified. Amongst them, 93 isolates were identified as resistant to carbapenem by disc diffusion method of which 50 isolates were tested for carbapenemase production. Within the 50 isolates, 47 isolates were resistant to E-test meropenem and 40 isolates were resistant to imipenem. Of note, 35 out of the 50 CROs were identified as carbapenemase producers. Our results show that Carba NP test is a simple method that can be employed routinely for early detection of carbapenemase mediated CROs thus reducing the spread of resistant strains in Hospitals.