[Trends in antibiotic resistance in Medellín and municipalities of the Metropolitan Area between 2007 and 2012: Results of six years of surveillance].

Introduction: Bacterial resistance is a global phenomenon, but it presents geographic and temporal variations; this is the importance of local surveillance programs.

Objective: To determine trends in antibiotic resistance in hospitals between 2007 and 2012 in Medellín and its Metropolitan Area.

Materials And Methods: Percentages of antibiotic resistance between 2007 and 2012 in 22 institutions were obtained using WHONET 5.

First identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates producing a KPC-type carbapenem-hydrolyzing beta-lactamase.

In Medellin, Colombia, three Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates with high-level carbapenem resistance (MIC>or=256 microg/ml) and an isolate of Citrobacter freundii with reduced susceptibility to imipenem produced the plasmid-mediated class A carbapenemase KPC-2. This is the first report of a KPC-type beta-lactamase identified outside of the family Enterobacteriaceae.

First detection of the plasmid-mediated class A carbapenemase KPC-2 in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from South America.

The plasmid-mediated class A carbapenemase KPC-2 was isolated from unrelated Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in Medellin, Colombia. These KPC enzymes are the first from South America and the second isolation outside of the United States. The expanding geographic spread of KPC carbapenemases underscores the importance of clinical recognition of these enzymes.

[Development of a record-keeping strategy for improvement of information retention in microbiological processing].

The improvement of microbiological information processing in clinical laboratories depends on retention of information concerning who, what, when, how, and why each process was performed, the implementation of quality control procedures, and finally, its evaluation. The four objectives to be addressed are as follows: (1) to improve the collection of information concerned with microbiological processes, (2) to evaluate results of implemented strategies, (3) to offer a model data base to be used in research projects, and (4) to propose an evaluation model for comparative studies. To do this, microbiological cultures were collected from hospitalized patients from June 1997 to June 2003.