Isolation of proteus spp from urinary catheter patient
Introduction
Background: Proteus bacteria are a well-known cause of urinary tract
infections (UTIs). The prevalence of UTIs is high among catheterized
patients and those undergoing manipulation of the urinary tract. This
study assessed the prevalence of UTIs due to Proteus species, the
predisposing factors, complications and extent of antimicrobial
resistance at a regional teaching hospital.
Proteus mirabilis compromises the care of many patients undergoing long-term indwelling
bladder catheterization. It forms crystalline bacterial biofilms in catheters which block the
flow of urine, causing either incontinence due to leakage or painful distention of the bladder
due to urinary retention. If it is not dealt with, catheter blockage can lead to pyelonephritis
and septicemia. We have examined the epidemiology of catheter-associated P. mirabilis
infections by use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of NotI restriction enzyme digests
of bacterial DNA.
The technige
was shown to be more discriminatory than the classical phenotypic Dienes typing
technique. We demonstrated that each of 42 isolates from diverse environmental sources
and 10 of 12 isolates from blood, wound swabs, and mid-stream urine samples of
hospitalized patients had distinct genotypes. Examination of a set of 55 isolates of P.
mirabilis, each from a different clinical or environmental source, identified 49 distinct
genotypes and 43 Dienes types. The index of discrimination was 0.993 for the PFGE method
and 0.988 for the Dienes method.
Applying the PFGE method to isolates from catheter-associated urinary tract infections
confirmed that the strains present in the crystalline catheter biofilms were identical to those
isolated from the same patient's urine. An analysis of samples taken during a prospective
Introduction
Background: Proteus bacteria are a well-known cause of urinary tract
infections (UTIs). The prevalence of UTIs is high among catheterized
patients and those undergoing manipulation of the urinary tract. This
study assessed the prevalence of UTIs due to Proteus species, the
predisposing factors, complications and extent of antimicrobial
resistance at a regional teaching hospital.
Proteus mirabilis compromises the care of many patients undergoing long-term indwelling
bladder catheterization. It forms crystalline bacterial biofilms in catheters which block the
flow of urine, causing either incontinence due to leakage or painful distention of the bladder
due to urinary retention. If it is not dealt with, catheter blockage can lead to pyelonephritis
and septicemia. We have examined the epidemiology of catheter-associated P. mirabilis
infections by use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of NotI restriction enzyme digests
of bacterial DNA.
The technige
was shown to be more discriminatory than the classical phenotypic Dienes typing
technique. We demonstrated that each of 42 isolates from diverse environmental sources
and 10 of 12 isolates from blood, wound swabs, and mid-stream urine samples of
hospitalized patients had distinct genotypes. Examination of a set of 55 isolates of P.
mirabilis, each from a different clinical or environmental source, identified 49 distinct
genotypes and 43 Dienes types. The index of discrimination was 0.993 for the PFGE method
and 0.988 for the Dienes method.
Applying the PFGE method to isolates from catheter-associated urinary tract infections
confirmed that the strains present in the crystalline catheter biofilms were identical to those
isolated from the same patient's urine. An analysis of samples taken during a prospective
