Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: The increasing use of β-lactam antibiotics in clinics for the treatment of different bacterial infections since early 1980s has led to increased rates of resistant bacteria isolated from patients. One of the problems in the treatment of nosocomial infections is related to resistant bacteria such as Enterobacter cloacae due to cross resistance through extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing E. cloacae from different clinical specimens collected from hospitalized patients.

Methods: In the present study, 101 E. cloacae confirmed by standard specific microbiologic tests were collected from different specimens in Milad and Motahri hospitals in Tehran, Iran during February 2010 and September 2011. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted according to the process recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute for 13 antibiotics of choice. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing strains were screened for by combined disk method as a phenotypic diagnostic test.

Results: From a total of 101 E. cloacae, 33 (33%) were shown to produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamase by phenotypic tests 5% of the bacteria were resistant to imipenem too.

Conclusion: This study clearly showed the high prevalence of resistance to broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics in the isolated E. cloacae among which 5% were multi drug resistant. All the isolated E. cloacae were susceptible to Colistin. These results can be alarming for physicians treating resistant E. cloacae infections, especially extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing species.