Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a critical contributor to both community- and hospital-acquired infections, with rising multidrug resistance (MDR) posing serious therapeutic challenges.
Objective: This study assessed the prevalence of K. pneumoniae and its antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among clinical specimens collected at Chittagong Medical College, Bangladesh.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2022 to June 2023 in Chittagong Medical College, Chattogram. A total of 320 clinical specimens (urine, wound swabs, sputum, blood) from inpatients and outpatients were subjected to culture and sensitivity. Conventional microbiological identification was confirmed by 16S rRNA PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility (excluding colistin) was tested via the Modified Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method (CLSI 2022). Colistin resistance was assessed using the colistin agar test, applying CLSI breakpoints.
Results: Overall culture positivity was 63.4% (203/320). Klebsiella pneumoniae was confirmed in 16.9% (54/320) of samples, most commonly isolated from sputum (51.4%), followed by wound swabs (17.1%), urine (11.8%), and blood (6.5%). Among the 54 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, resistance rates were highest against amoxiclav (94.4%), with lower resistance observed for aminoglycosides (amikacin, 24.1%) and meropenem (31.5%). Colistin resistance was detected in 12.9% (7/54) of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates.
Conclusion: The prominence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and its variable degree of resistance to multiple antibiotics, underscores an urgent need for enhanced antimicrobial stewardship, accurate diagnostics, and robust surveillance in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Journal of Medical Microbiology, January 2026;20 (1):3-9
D. Chowdhury, Sahed Uddin, Pompy Dey et al.· Bangladesh Journal of Medica...· 0 citations
Background: Recently worldwide, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infection has attracted a lot of attention because of the scarcity of effective drugs and the severity of the illness as well as the high death rate. This study was conducted to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and the molecular identification of CRKP isolates that were obtained from patients with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) at a tertiary care hospital in Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet, from July 2021 to June 2022. A total of 153 sputum samples were collected from adult patients (≥18 years) clinically diagnosed with LRTIs. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.
Result: Among 153 sputum samples from LRTI patients, 66.0% showed bacterial growth, with Klebsiella pneumoniae accounting for 20.9% of isolates. The mean age was 52.43±17.12 years with male predominance (69.3%). Of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, 25.0% were carbapenem-resistant (CRKP), among which 75.0% produced carbapenemase and 50.0% harbored the KPC gene. Overall isolates showed high resistance to cephalosporins (up to 81.2%) and moderate sensitivity to carbapenems (around 72–75%) and amikacin (56.2%). CRKP isolates demonstrated marked multidrug resistance, with high resistance to most antibiotics, including carbapenems (75.0%).
Conclusion: In conclusion, one in every fourth KP isolate was CRKP, which highlighted the need for careful prescription of carbapenems for the therapy of infectious diseases with ESBL-producing KP. Among different genes conferring resistance to carbapenems, only the blaKPC gene was investigated in this study.
S. Chowdhury, Swarna Paul, Fouzia Ahmed Chowdhury et al.· International Journal of Res...· 0 citations
