Clonal repetitive element polymerase chain reaction patterns of

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Genetics

Background:

• Diabetic foot infections (DFU) are a significant clinical challenge.
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a key pathogen complicating DFU treatment.
• Understanding P. aeruginosa prevalence and resistance is vital for effective DFU management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of P. aeruginosa in diabetic foot ulcers.
• To assess the antimicrobial resistance, biofilm formation, and virulence gene profiles of P. aeruginosa isolates.
• To investigate the clonality and hospital-associated dissemination of P. aeruginosa strains in DFU.

Main Methods:

• Collected samples from 66 DFU patients.
• Assessed P. aeruginosa prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and biofilm production using disk diffusion and crystal violet assays.
• Utilized polymerase chain reaction to detect resistance and virulence genes (blaTEM, blaSHV, toxA, alg44, mucA) and repetitive element polymerase chain reaction for clonality analysis.

Main Results:

• High resistance rates observed for ciprofloxacin (58.6%), tobramycin (57.1%), and imipenem (55.1%).
• Multidrug resistance (62.5%) and strong biofilm production (41.3%) were common.
• Prevalence of virulence genes toxA (82%), alg44 (93.1%), mucA (75.8%) and blaTEM (65.5%) were significant; blaSHV was absent (0%).
• Clonal relationships were identified among isolates from the same hospital.

Conclusions:

• P. aeruginosa strains in DFU exhibit significant multidrug resistance and biofilm-forming capabilities.
• The presence of specific virulence genes contributes to the pathogenicity of these strains.
• Hospital-associated clonal spread highlights the need for enhanced infection control and surveillance of hygiene practices to prevent dissemination.