Mansour SEDIGHI, Shiva MIRKALANTARI, Keyvan TAHERI, Elahe EDALATI, Hosseinali GHAZVINI

Virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance in uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains isolated from cystitis and pyelonephritis

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of virulence genes as well as patterns of antibiotic resistancein cystitis and pyelonephritis uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates.Materials and methods: Two hundred UPEC isolates were collected from hospitalized patients with pyelonephritis (n = 50) andcystitis (n = 150) in Shafa Hospital in Iran. Antimicrobial susceptibility and ESBL production were determined with confirmatory tests.Polymerase chain reaction assay was performed to determine the prevalence of virulence genes in UPEC strains.Results: Of a total 200 UPEC isolates, the highest and lowest resistance rates to antibiotics were for cephalexin (74%) and nitrofurantoin(9%), respectively. Of these isolates, 72 (36%) and 128 (64%) strains were ESBL-positive and ESBL-negative, respectively. The frequencyof fimH, papC, and hly was 64%, 38%, and 12%, respectively. The most commonly identified virulence gene in ESBL-positive and ESBLnegative strains was fimH 46 (23%) and 86 (43%), respectively. The hlyA gene was more prevalent among patients with pyelonephritisthan cystitis.Conclusion: The frequency of virulence genes was not significantly different between pyelonephritis and cystitis UPEC strains in thestudied patients, but the prevalence rates of hlyA and papC genes were higher among UPEC strains isolated from inpatients comparedto outpatients; hence, they could be considered as useful targets for prophylactic interventions.

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