Carbapenem Resistant Pathogens: Epidemiology, Treatment and Prevention

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2024 | Viewed by 1793

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Interests: host-pathogen interactions; antimicrobial stewardship; carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent and contemporary danger to public health. Carbapenem resistance is a wide umbrella definition encompassing both nonfermenters (e.g., A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa) and fermenters (e.g., Enterobacterales) but comprises distinct resistance mechanisms and molecular epidemiology that varies regionally. Carbapenem-resistant pathogens tend to harbor numerous mechanisms of resistance, drug inactivation through carbapenemase enzyme production being the most recognized. However, the proliferation of diverse carbapenemase, non-carbapenemase, and non-enzymatic mechanisms demands a shift in how these organisms are identified and managed. Adding to the complexity of the current challenges with carbapenem resistance includes inconsistent definitions among regulatory bodies and lack of specific infection prevention measures and limitations in rapid diagnostics corresponding to the diverse mechanisms underlying carbapenem resistance. Thus, there is a need for global investigations into emerging mechanisms and epidemiology underlying these evasive organisms and into the effectiveness of treatments that can guide clinicians and public health agencies to efficiently diagnose, treat, and prevent the spread of these organisms. Topics welcome for submission to this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • Emerging mechanisms and features underlying non-carbapenemase-producing, carbapenem-resistant organisms;
  • Comparative infection prevention measures targeting carbapenem-resistant organisms;
  • Therapeutic approaches to non-carbapenemase-producing, carbapenem-resistant organisms;
  • Novel diagnostic methods for carbapenem resistance with translational application in the clinic;
  • Emerging resistance to non-carbapenem (e.g., polymyxin, fosfomycin) or carbapenem-beta lactamase agents (e.g., meropenem-vaborbactam);
  • Epidemiological investigations in vulnerable or immunocompromised populations (e.g., bone marrow transplant);
  • Impact of COVID-19 on regional variation in antimicrobial utilization and infection prevention measures with shifts in epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant organisms.

Dr. Grace C. Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • carbapenem resistance
  • epidemiology
  • Gram-negative
  • carbapenemase
  • non-carbapenemase

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1570 KiB  
Article
Diverse Role of blaCTX-M and Porins in Mediating Ertapenem Resistance among Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales
by Cody A. Black, Raymond Benavides, Sarah M. Bandy, Steven D. Dallas, Gerard Gawrys, Wonhee So, Alvaro G. Moreira, Samantha Aguilar, Kevin Quidilla, Dan F. Smelter, Kelly R. Reveles, Christopher R. Frei, Jim M. Koeller and Grace C. Lee
Antibiotics 2024, 13(2), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13020185 - 13 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1450
Abstract
Among carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are diverse mechanisms, including those that are resistant to meropenem but susceptible to ertapenem, adding further complexity to the clinical landscape. This study investigates the emergence of ertapenem-resistant, meropenem-susceptible (ErMs) Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae CRE across five hospitals [...] Read more.
Among carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are diverse mechanisms, including those that are resistant to meropenem but susceptible to ertapenem, adding further complexity to the clinical landscape. This study investigates the emergence of ertapenem-resistant, meropenem-susceptible (ErMs) Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae CRE across five hospitals in San Antonio, Texas, USA, from 2012 to 2018. The majority of the CRE isolates were non-carbapenemase producers (NCP; 54%; 41/76); 56% of all NCP isolates had an ErMs phenotype. Among ErMs strains, E. coli comprised the majority (72%). ErMs strains carrying blaCTX-M had, on average, 9-fold higher copies of blaCTX-M than CP-ErMs strains as well as approximately 4-fold more copies than blaCTX-M-positive but ertapenem- and meropenem-susceptible (EsMs) strains (3.7 vs. 0.9, p < 0.001). Notably, carbapenem hydrolysis was observed to be mediated by strains harboring blaCTX-M with and without a carbapenemase(s). ErMs also carried more mobile genetic elements, particularly IS26 composite transposons, than EsMs (37 vs. 0.2, p < 0.0001). MGE- ISVsa5 was uniquely more abundant in ErMs than either EsMs or ErMr strains, with over 30 more average ISVsa5 counts than both phenotype groups (p < 0.0001). Immunoblot analysis demonstrated the absence of OmpC expression in NCP-ErMs E. coli, with 92% of strains lacking full contig coverage of ompC. Overall, our findings characterize both collaborative and independent efforts between blaCTX-M and OmpC in ErMs strains, indicating the need to reappraise the term “non-carbapenemase (NCP)”, particularly for strains highly expressing blaCTX-M. To improve outcomes for CRE-infected patients, future efforts should focus on mechanisms underlying the emerging ErMs subphenotype of CRE strains to develop technologies for its rapid detection and provide targeted therapeutic strategies. Full article
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