Evaluation of Techniques for Detection of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in Stool Surveillance Cultures

Abstract

ABSTRACT Screening for gastrointestinal colonization with multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogens is an important component of infection control protocols. In the New York City region, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, which harbor the KPC carbapenem-hydrolyzing β-lactamase, have rapidly emerged. The potential utility of screening medium, which involved using 10-μg imipenem disks, was investigated. The method of placing a sample from a fecal surveillance culture into broth containing an imipenem disk appeared to have the greatest sensitivity for detecting KPC-producing K. pneumoniae . Gastrointestinal colonization with two other carbapenem-resistant nosocomial pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii , was also detected using this method. Placing fecal surveillance specimens into broth containing an imipenem disk is an easy method for screening samples for carbapenem-resistant nosocomial pathogens.