Frequency of blaIMP and blaSPM Metallo-β-Lactamase Genes among Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Isolates in Sari, North of Iran

Introduction: Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) play a major role in the resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to carbapenems. We investigated the antibiotic susceptibility patterns and frequency of MBLs genes (blaIMP and blaSPM) in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in Sari, Iran. Materials and Methods: The isolates were identified using standard microbiological tests, and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined by the disk agar diffusion method according CLSI criteria. Phenotypic identification of MBL-producing strains assessed by the combined disk test (CDT). Then, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of blaIMP and blaSPM genes. Results: The highest and lowest levels of antibiotic resistance were observed against gentamicin (40%) and piperacillin-tazobactam (13%), respectively. Besides, 40 isolates (40%) had the multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotype, while 5 (12.5%) MDR isolates were resistant to all antibiotics tested. The results of the CDT showed that among 43 carbapenem non-susceptible clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, 33 (76.74%) isolates were MBL-producing strains. Also, the frequency of the blaIMP gene among 43 carbapenem non susceptible isolates was determined to be 6.97%, while none of these isolates carried the blaSPM gene. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of carbapenem-resistant and MDR P. aeruginosa in this study, routine antibiotic susceptibility testing and phenotypic identification of carbapenemase production by this bacterium are necessary for the proper selection of antibiotics.