The study was conducted at the Microbiology Department of The Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health Lahore, Pakistan, from May 2010 to February 2012. Eleven pathological samples including blood, cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF), urine, sputum, peritoneal dialysis catheters, tracheal secretions and pus were collected from paediatric patients were analysed during the study period. The patient’s history regarding the use of various interventions like intravenous line, urinary catheters, endotracheal tube, lumber puncture, peritoneal dialysis catheters, exchange transfusion, nasogastric tube, surgery, central venous pressure line and tracheostomy was also noted. The Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI) was used to inoculate the blood samples and after a period of incubation they were sub-cultured on solid media. All of the clinical samples were cultured on different solid media of Blood, Chocolate and MacConkey agar plates (90mm) while the urine samples were cultured only on Cystine Lysine Electrolyte Deficient Medium (CLED). An overnight incubation of these culture plates was done at 37±1ºC in an incubator. The bacterial strains were identified using API 20E system (bioMerieux). Only the K. pneumoniae strains were included and processed further for ESBL detection. The culture media and antibiotic discs were purchased from Oxoid.
The K. pneumoniae strains were screened as ESBL screening-positive on the basis of resistance to ceftazidime. The screen positive K. pneumoniae strains were further processed for double disc synergy test (DDST) and Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) confirmatory test. In DDST, a disc of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AMC) was placed in the center of Mueller-Hinton agar plate (90mm) at 20mm distance to ceftazidime (CAZ 30μg) and cefotaxime (CTX 30μg). ESBL production was detected by the appearance of key hole effect due to the enhanced activity of ceftazidime and cefotaxime with clavulanic acid.
Both DDST positive and negative K. pneumoniae strains were analysed by CLSI confirmatory test. The CLSI confirmatory test was performed with of ceftazidime (CAZ 30μg) and cefotaxime (CTX 30μg) alone and using a combined disc of ceftazidime-clavulanic acid and cefotaxime-clavulanic acid (CAZ/CLA and CTX/CLA 30/10 μg). The CLSI confirmatory test was considered positive when the inhibition zone produced by the combined effect of ceftazidime or cefotaxime and clavulanic acid increased ≥5 mm than ceftazidime or cefotaxime without the clavulanic acid.10
The K. pneumoniae strains were screened as ESBL screening-positive on the basis of resistance to ceftazidime. The screen positive K. pneumoniae strains were further processed for double disc synergy test (DDST) and Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) confirmatory test. In DDST, a disc of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AMC) was placed in the center of Mueller-Hinton agar plate (90mm) at 20mm distance to ceftazidime (CAZ 30μg) and cefotaxime (CTX 30μg). ESBL production was detected by the appearance of key hole effect due to the enhanced activity of ceftazidime and cefotaxime with clavulanic acid.
Both DDST positive and negative K. pneumoniae strains were analysed by CLSI confirmatory test. The CLSI confirmatory test was performed with of ceftazidime (CAZ 30μg) and cefotaxime (CTX 30μg) alone and using a combined disc of ceftazidime-clavulanic acid and cefotaxime-clavulanic acid (CAZ/CLA and CTX/CLA 30/10 μg). The CLSI confirmatory test was considered positive when the inhibition zone produced by the combined effect of ceftazidime or cefotaxime and clavulanic acid increased ≥5 mm than ceftazidime or cefotaxime without the clavulanic acid.10
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