Abstract

Objectives: Antibiotic resistance, phylogenetic groups and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns were evaluated in urinary tract infection (UTI) Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from outpatients and inpatients.

Methods: In this study, antibiotic resistance to E. coli isolated from non-hospitalized and hospitalized patients (153 outpatients and 147 inpatients ) was evaluated in Shiraz County, Iran. Phylogenetic groups and Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of 143 ESBLs-producing E. coli were also assessed.

Results: The prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli was shown to be 46.4% and 49% in the outpatient and inpatient UTI E. coli isolates, respectively. Most ESBL-producers were detected on patients hospitalized in clinical surgery units (66.7%) and intensive care units (62.5%). Phylogenetic group D was the dominant group in both the outpatient and inpatient isolates (67.6% and 61.1%, respectively) and also in internal, clinical surgery and ICU units. PFGE results showed more relatedness (>80% similarity) among inpatient isolates. PFGE analysis of 49 ESBL-producing inpatient E.coli in hospital units revealed 17 different pulsotypes, consisting of 11 clones and 6 single patterns. There were no clonal patterns in outpatient isolates, and similarity among the outpatient isolates and also between inpatient and outpatient isolates was less than 80% (75% and 66%, respectively).

Conclusion: The results showed extreme genomic diversity among the ESBL-producing E. coli isolates in terms of the community and multiclonal dissemination of ESBL-producing E. coli isolated from hospital units.

Keywords: PFGE, ESBLs, inpatients, outpatients, Escherichia coli, urinary tract infections