Determination of Antibiotic Resistance and Molecular Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Isolated from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Referred to Gholhak Pathobiology Laboratory in Tehran City During ۲۰۱۶-۲۰۱۸

Abstract

Abstract Background and Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosastrains isolated from lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are often heterogeneous and antibiotic resistant strains. In this regard, in the current study, the antibiotic resistance properties and genetic diversity of these bacteria, were investigated using repetitive-element-based molecular assay in the samples isolated from patients in Iran. Methods: This study was performed as a descriptive cross-sectional study on 100 strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from CF patients. The isolates were diagnosed using standard biochemical tests and then their antibiotic resistance pattern was determined. Molecular diversity of the strains was determined by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus - Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC - PCR) and BOX A1R-PCR methods.The correlation between molecular types and antibiotic resistance pattern, was determined by chisquare test. Results: The findings indicated that the prevalence of multiple drug resistant isolates was 35%, while, only two strains hadhypermutator phenotypes (HP). Most of the isolates (96%), were resistant to rifampin and the highest susceptibility,was to streptomycin, imipenem, and meropenem (96%, 93%, and 94%, respectively). Molecular analysis revealed that BOXA1R-PCR fingerprinting produced 24 patterns in 8 clusters, while, ERIC-PCR resulted in 26 patterns in 9 clusters in the total population. Conclusion: The high prevalence of diversity and multiple antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa strains isolated fromCF patientsthreatens the public health in Iran. Therefore, the findings of the present studycould lead to understanding of the evolution of this bacterium in CF patients and help to find newer drug targets for the control of chronic CF infection.