Use of a selective medium with potassium tellurite to follow intestinal colonization of hospitalized patients by drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae

Nosocomial infections are a relevant factor in complicating the recovery of patients interned for even minor causes. In a attempt to determine their origin it is crucial to consider that their origin is of an endogenous nature. Looking for an accessible expression of intestinal colonization we analy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 1993-01, Vol.88 (1), p.135-140
Main Authors: Melo, S A, de Castro, E A, Pereira, J A, Suassuna, I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
antimicrobial resistance
bowel colonization
Cross Infection - microbiology
Culture Media
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Enterobacteriaceae
Enterobacteriaceae - drug effects
Enterobacteriaceae - growth & development
Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification
Enterobacteriaceae Infections - microbiology
Feces - microbiology
Hospitalization
Humans
Infant, Newborn
PARASITOLOGY
potassium tellurite
Prospective Studies
selective medium
Tellurium - pharmacology
TROPICAL MEDICINE
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Summary:Nosocomial infections are a relevant factor in complicating the recovery of patients interned for even minor causes. In a attempt to determine their origin it is crucial to consider that their origin is of an endogenous nature. Looking for an accessible expression of intestinal colonization we analyzed fecal samples from 3 separate groups of hospital patients collected after different lengths of time. For practical reasons one group was studied prospectively and two other groups (patients hospitalized for up to 7 days and patients hospitalized for more than 7 days) were compared to one another. We looked for the emergence of tellurite resistance among Enterobacteriaceae using a selective medium, MacConkey potassium tellurite (MCPT). The frequency of prospectively studied patients with tellurite resistant strains was significantly greater after 7 days of hospitalization. For the two other groups, patients with more than 7 days of hospitalization showed a significant increase of bacterial species and of strains with new antimicrobial resistance markers. High molecular weight plasmids were detected in some of these strains. These data show that the MCPT medium is a useful tool for the investigation of bowel colonization in hospitalized patients by drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
ISSN:0074-0276
1678-8060
0074-0276
1678-8060
DOI:10.1590/S0074-02761993000100021