Temporal evolution of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Curitiba, southern Brazil.

Background: In the last few years, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates (CR-AB) have been identified worldwide. The first description of OXA-23-producing A baumannii in Brazil was from the city of Curitiba in 2003. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the persistence and dissemination of the first OXA-23-producing A baumannii clone isolated from patients in Hospital de Clinicas, Curitiba, Brazil.

Occurrence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from hospitalized patients in Curitiba, southern Brazil.

Production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) by enterobacteria is an important resistance mechanism against antimicrobial beta-lactamics. We tested 498 bacterial strains isolated from two tertiary-care teaching hospitals for ESBL production, using screening breakpoints for aztreonam and third generation cephalosporins, according to CLSI recommendations. Among these isolates, 155 were positive for the ESBL screening test, and 121 (78%) were confirmed by the clavulanic acid combination disk method.