Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from hospitals in the north-west region of Poland.

A total of 90 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from 4 hospitals in the west-north region of Poland were studied by arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR). AP-PCR results revealed the presence of 11 main groups of patterns (A-K) and 5 unique patterns among isolates. Generally, they were characterized by high resistance to antibiotics tested and significant differences in serogroups and types of growth on Cetrimide Agar medium. It was observed that clonally related strains were isolated from patients within the same ward, among different wards as well as in distant hospitals.