Molecular Typing Demonstrating Transmission of Gram-Negative Rods in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the Absence of a Recognized Epidemic

Molecular typing techniques have been used in outbreak investigations. In this study, molecular typing techniques were used to track the spread of gram-negative rods (GNRs) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the absence of an outbreak. Stool or rectal swab cultures for GNRs were obtained fr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2001-01, Vol.32 (2), p.220-227
Main Authors: Almuneef, Maha A., Baltimore, Robert S., Farrel, Patricia A., Reagan-Cirincione, Patricia, Dembry, Louise M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Antibiotics
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial sepsis
Bacterial Typing Techniques
Biological and medical sciences
Birth weight
Cross Infection - microbiology
Disease transmission
DNA, Bacterial - analysis
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Electrophoresis - methods
Feces - microbiology
Female
Genotype
Gentamicins - pharmacology
Gram-Negative Aerobic Rods and Cocci - classification
Gram-Negative Aerobic Rods and Cocci - drug effects
Gram-Negative Aerobic Rods and Cocci - genetics
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - microbiology
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - transmission
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infants
Infections
Infectious diseases
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Major Article
Male
Medical sciences
Microbial colonization
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Neonatal intensive care units
Newborns
Pediatrics
Surveillance
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Molecular typing techniques have been used in outbreak investigations. In this study, molecular typing techniques were used to track the spread of gram-negative rods (GNRs) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the absence of an outbreak. Stool or rectal swab cultures for GNRs were obtained from all infants on admission, weekly, and on discharge. GNRs were tested for gentamicin susceptibility and were typed by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis. Transmission of identical strains of GNRs among infants was noted. Shared strains were more gentamicin resistant compared with unique strains (53% vs. 10%; P = .0001). Infants first colonized when they were >1 week of age had more total days of antibiotic treatment and had a higher rate of acquiring a shared and gentamicin-resistant strain, compared with infants colonized earlier. Antibiotic use increases colonization of infants in the NICU with resistant and shared strains of GNRs.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/318477