Development and Evaluation of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for Rapid and Specific Identification of Carbapenem-Resistant Strains Harboring , and the Epidemiological Survey of Clinical Isolates.

is an important nosocomial pathogen in hospital-acquired infections, and carbapenem resistance has been increasingly observed worldwide. Oxacillinase production by is a predominant and prevalent carbapenem resistance mechanism of , especially in China. Rapid and specific detection of may offer valuable insight for administration of directed antimicrobial therapy. In this study, we aimed to develop a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)-based method for identifying carbapenem-resistant (CRAB) harboring the gene. High-specificity primers for screening were designed and synthesized, and the LAMP reactions were performed. Clinical strains isolated from the Former 307th Hospital of People's Liberation Army were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this method compared with those of phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing and the traditional PCR method. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to investigate the epidemiology of the bacterial population. Compared with antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the sensitivity and specificity of LAMP in detecting were 88.4% and 97.7%, respectively. However, the LAMP method is much simpler and less time-consuming (within 60 minutes) than conventional PCR and phenotypic susceptibility testing. The 113 isolates could be clustered into 30 sequence types, and most strains (83/113) belonged to clonal complex (CC) 92, which is also the dominant CC in China. The LAMP-based method detected in a simpler manner and could provide rapid results for identifying CRAB. Consequently, may serve as a surrogate marker for the presence of CRAB in patients with serious infections in clinical practice.