Use of meropenem Adatabs dissolved in MacConkey agar for screening NDM-1 positive Enterobacteriaceae in faecal surveillance cultures
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Published on: February 10, 2011
Saugata Choudhury1, Kian Sing Chan, Tse Hsien Koh
1Department of Lab Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. drsaugata@yahoo.com
Aims:
Carbapenem resistance due to metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) in Enterobacteriaceae has gained much prominence in recent months. The emergence and subsequent spread of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) constitutes a potential threat in terms of the management of affected patients and institutional infection control efforts. We evaluated an in-house prepared meropenem impregnated MacConkey agar versus CHROMagar KPC.
Methods:
The lowest limit of detection (LLD) was compared for nine clinical isolates of NDM-1 producing Enterobacteriaceae on the above mentioned agar media.
Results:
LLD was comparable for all the nine clinical isolates on both media. The cost of the antibiotic impregnated MacConkey agar was considerably lower (US$0.39) as compared to the commercial media, while its performance remained unaltered for a period of at least 8 weeks of storage.
Conclusion:
The in-house medium proved to be a suitable and cheap alternative to the CHROMagar KPC.
