Enterococcal infection rate from various clinical samples and phenotypic characterization of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) at tertiary care hospital.

• Hemanshi Maheta,  
• Asha Mandalia,  
• Nidhi Sood,  
• Neha Baldaniya,*  
• Rosy Parmar

Abstract

BACKGROUND Enterococci are increasingly prevalent in both community and hospital-acquired infections, posing a significant challenge due to their resistance to common antibiotics, including vancomycin. Given the lack of specific prevalence data in our hospital, we conducted a study to isolate and characterize enterococci from diverse clinical samples and assess their resistance profiles, particularly to vancomycin, to guide more effective treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS All clinical samples were processed for Gram staining and culture. Antibiotic Susceptibility Test was performed as per CLSI guidelines. RESULTS Out of 12013 clinical specimens, 50 Enterococcal isolates were recovered. 34% of the isolates were from blood followed by from urine (30%), pus (16%), fluids (14%), sputum (4%) and CSF (2%). 52% isolates were from indoor patients. 62% isolates were isolated from female patients. E. faecium was the predominant species followed by E. Faecalis. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern showed 100 percent susceptibility of linezolid. Vancomycin and teicoplanin resistance was seen in 20% and 28% isolates respectively. 70% isolates showed resistance to both vancomycin and teicoplanin. CONCLUSIONS A high rate of VRE isolates in our hospital in the present study and predominance of isolates with resistance to both vancomycin and teicoplanin informing Van A genotype along with multidrug resistance exhibited by these agents leaving fewer therapeutic options for the treatment worsens the problem further. This emphasizes the need for conducting regular surveillance for prompt identification and infection control of VRE in hospitals and community.

Keywords

Enterococci, VRE, Van A, Van B, Van C