Prevalence of extended spectrum beta lactamase and AmpC beta lactamase producers among <i><i>Escherichia</i> coli</i> isolates in a tertiary care hospital in Jaipur

• Main Authors: Sinha Parul, Sharma Rajni, Rishi Suman, Sharma Raman, Sood Smita, Pathak Deepali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2008-07-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology
• Subjects: AmpC <b>&#946;</b>L; beta lactam; extended spectrum beta lactamase
• Online Access: http://www.ijpmonline.org/article.asp?issn=0377-4929;year=2008;volume=51;issue=3;spage=367;epage=369;aulast=Sinha
• ISSN: 0377-4929

Resistance to broad spectrum &#946; lactams, mediated by extended spectrum beta lactamase (ES&#946;L) and AmpC &#946;L enzymes is an increasing problem worldwide. Presence of these in clinical infections can result in treatment failure if one of the second or third generation cephalosporins is used. Therefore, it is recommended that any ES&#946;L-producing organism according to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) criteria can be reported as resistant to all extended spectrum &#946; lactam antibiotics regardless of the susceptibility test results. In this study, a total of 250 <i>Escherichia coli (E. coli)</i> isolates were subjected to Double disc test and AmpC disc test for the detection of ES&#946;L- and AmpC &#946;L-producing strains, respectively. Prevalence of ES&#946;L- and AmpC &#946;L-producing strains among <i>E. coli</i> isolates, over a 3-month-period in the hospital-based population of Jaipur, was 64.80&#x0025; (162/250). AmpC &#946;L producers were 24.00&#x0025; (60/250) and co-existence of ES&#946;L and AmpC &#946;L was detected in 8.00&#x0025; (20/250) of the isolates.