Reduction of Environmental Contamination With Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria by Copper-Alloy Coating of Surfaces in a Highly Endemic Setting.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of copper-coating in reducing environmental colonization in an intensive-care unit (ICU) with multidrug-resistant-organism (MDRO) endemicity DESIGN Interventional, comparative crossover trial SETTING The general ICU of Attikon University hospital in Athens, Greece PATIENTS Those admitted to ICU compartments A and B during the study period METHODS Before any intervention (phase 1), the optimum sampling method using 2 nylon swabs was validated. In phase 2, 6 copper-coated beds (ie, with coated upper, lower, and side rails) and accessories (ie, coated side table, intravenous [i.v.

Nationwide surveillance of resistance rates of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from Greek hospitals, 2012-2013.

Purpose To evaluate the in vitro efficacy of several anti-staphylococcal agents against a nationwide collection of contemporary Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from several healthcare centres in Greece. Methods Thirty hospitals throughout Greece (18 in Attica) provided all clinical isolates of S.aureus from April 2012 to May 2013 to a central lab to be re-submitted to susceptibility testing.

Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Identification with Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry.

We determined that the Vitek MS Plus matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry using research-use-only (RUO) v.4.12 and in vitro-diagnostic (IVD) v.

A 12-year survey of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in Greece: ST80-IV epidemic?

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important cause of both healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections. Severe MRSA infections have been associated with the virulence factor Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL). The aim of this study was to investigate susceptibility patterns, the presence of toxin genes, including that encoding PVL, and clonality among MRSA isolates collected from patients in Greece over a 12-year period.

In vivo transmission of a plasmid containing the KPC-2 gene in a single patient.

Here we describe a case of in vivo horizontal interspecies transmission of a KPC-2-producing plasmid from a Klebsiella pneumoniae to an Enterobacter aerogenes strain in the same patient. The patient's gut flora initially contained a carbapenem-susceptible E. aerogenes strain and 10 days after admission a KPC-2-positive K.

Antimicrobial activity of copper surfaces against carbapenemase-producing contemporary Gram-negative clinical isolates.

Objectives: The antimicrobial activity of copper surfaces against a variety of contemporary carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacteria representative of the most problematic nosocomial pathogens worldwide was evaluated.

Methods: Twenty-four clinical isolates, comprising four of Escherichia coli, two of Enterobacter spp., eight of Klebsiella pneumoniae and five each of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii producing either VIM-1 and/or KPC-2 or VIM-2 or OXA-type carbapenemases, were studied.

Activity of plazomicin (ACHN-490) against MDR clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter spp. from Athens, Greece.

The in vitro activity of plazomicin was evaluated against 300 multidrug resistant (MDR) (carbapenemase and/or ESBL-producing) isolates from four hospitals in Athens, an area where carbapenemase-producing organisms are endemic. Most of the isolates were also resistant to the legacy aminoglycosides with the MIC₅₀/MIC₉₀ to tobramycin, amikacin and gentamicin being 32/>32, 32/>32 and 4/>8 μg/ml, respectively. ACHN-490 retained activity (MICs ≤ 4 μg/ml) against all isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter spp.

Prevalence of 16S rRNA methylase genes in Enterobacteriaceae isolates from a Greek university hospital.

16S ribosomal RNA methylase-mediated high-level resistance to 4-,6-aminoglycosides has been reported in clinical isolates of gram-negative bacilli from several countries. Three of 1534 (0.2%) isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and three of 734 (0.

Comparison of direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods for rapid analysis of bronchial secretion samples in ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Two hundred and fifty tracheal aspirates were subjected to direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion, Etest and inoculation on antibiotic-enriched MacConkey agar plates. Results were compared with those obtained using an automated system on microorganisms recovered from standard quantitative culture. A total of 255 microorganisms were isolated from 194 positive samples by the standard quantitative procedure.

In vitro interactions of antimicrobial combinations with fosfomycin against KPC-2-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and protection of resistance development.

Using time-kill methodology, we investigated the interactions of fosfomycin with meropenem or colistin or gentamicin against 17 genetically distinct Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates carrying blaKPC-2. Synergy was observed with meropenem or colistin against 64.7 and 11.

Evaluation of CHROMagar™ KPC for the detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in rectal surveillance cultures.

In this study, the performance of the chromogenic medium CHROMagar™ KPC was evaluated and was compared with in-house-daily prepared McConkey agar plates supplemented with imipenem (1 mg/L) for the detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. In this surveillance study, rectal swabs were cultured on both media and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for bla(KPC) and bla(VIM) was used to confirm the genotype of growing colonies of Enterobacteriaceae. CHROMagar KPC was also tested with 17 genotypically characterised carbapenemase-producing and non-producing Gram-negative bacteria.

An outbreak of infection due to beta-Lactamase Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase 2-producing K. pneumoniae in a Greek University Hospital: molecular characterization, epidemiology, and outcomes.

Background: We describe the emergence and spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase 2 (KPC-2)-producing K. pneumoniae at a Greek University hospital.

Methods: Isolates with a carbapenem minimum inhibitory concentration >1 microg/mL and a negative EDTA-imipenem disk synergy test result were submitted to boronic acid disk test and to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for KPC gene and sequencing.

Diversity of beta-lactamases among Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated in a university hospital in Greece.

Among 48 clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated in a university hospital in Northern Greece, 29 (60.4%) exhibited resistance to third generation cephalosporins (3GC) and aztreonam. Thirty-two (66.