Browsing by Author "Korman, T.M."

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    Down the drain:carbapenem-resistant bacteria in intensive care unit patients and handwashing sinks
    (Australasian Medical Publishing Co., 2013) Kotsanas, D.; Wijesooriya, W.R.P.L.I.; Korman, T.M.; Gillespie, E.E.; Wright, L.; Snook, K.; Williams, N.; Bell, J.M.; Li, H.Y.; Stuart, R.L.
    OBJECTIVES: Clinical utility of carbapenem antibiotics is under threat because of the emergence of acquired metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) genes. We describe an outbreak in an intensive care unit (ICU) possibly associated with contaminated sinks. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Four clusters of gram-negative bacteria harbouring the MBL gene blaIMP-4 were detected in the ICU at Dandenong Hospital between November 2009 and July 2012. Epidemiological investigations were undertaken in order to identify a common point source. During September 2012, screening using rectal swabs for all ICU patients, and environmental swabs targeting all ICU hand washing sinks and taps were collected. Samples were cultured onto selective carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) agar. Suspected CRE isolates were further characterised using the modified Hodge test and VITEK 2 and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of MBL genes. Clinical and environmental CRE isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: Ten clinical isolates and one screening isolate of CRE (consisting of Klebsiella pneumoniae [5], Serratia marcescens [4], Enterobacter cloacae [1] and Escherichia coli [1]) were detected with the blaIMP-4 gene over the 30-03 period. S. marcescens was isolated persistently from the grating and drain of eight central sinks. Molecular typing confirmed that clinical and environmental isolates were related. Tap water cultures were negative. Several attempts to clean and decontaminate the sinks using detergents and steam cleaning proved unsuccessful. CONCLUSION: This report highlights the importance of identification of potential environmental reservoirs, such as sinks, for control of outbreaks of environmentally hardy multi-resistant organisms.
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    Teicoplanin non-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci in a large Australian healthcare network: Implications for treatment with vancomycin
    (Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology, 2017) Wijesooriya, W.R.P.L.I.; Kotsanas, D.N.; Korman, T.M.; Graham, M.
    INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are relatively low in virulence but some are increasingly recognized as agents of clinically important infections. Glycopeptides are the drugs of choice for treatment of methicillin-resistant CoNS infections. Our aim was to analyse the susceptibility profile of CoNS in our healthcare network from 2010-2012. METHODS: All CoNS with susceptibility results were analysed as two groups; teicoplanin-susceptible (Teico-S) and non–susceptible (Teico-NS). Analysis included results of other antistaphylococcal antibiotic susceptibilities, sample type (sterile, non-sterile), species and patient location (intensive care unit (ICU) vs non-ICU). RESULTS: Of the 1510 CoNS isolates with susceptibility results, 109 (7.2%) were non-susceptible to teicoplanin. Teicoplanin non-susceptibility was associated with non-susceptibility to ≥ 3 antistaphylococcal-antibiotics, detected more frequently from sterile samples compared to non-sterile samples and from ICU compared to ward patients. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common species recovered and was more likely to be Teico-NS. CONCLUSIONS: Teicoplanin non-susceptibility is associated with multi-resistance to ≥3 antistaphylococcal antibiotics. Clinicians should be aware that vancomycin resistance may be selected from Teico-NS strains.