Antibiotic resistance and biofilm-forming ability of a-toxin-positive Clostridium septicum isolates worsen patient prognosis

0576018 - MBÚ 2024 RIV DK eng J - Journal Article
Kuzma, J. - Zavala-Meneses, Sofía Guadalupe - Škultéty, L'udovít - Chmelař, D. - Ficik, J. - Palcova, L.
Antibiotic resistance and biofilm-forming ability of a-toxin-positive Clostridium septicum isolates worsen patient prognosis.
Acta Pathologica Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica. Roč. 131, č. 8 (2023), s. 434-441. ISSN 0903-4641. E-ISSN 1600-0463
Institutional support: RVO:61388971
Keywords : Alpha toxin * antibiotic resistance * biofilm * Clostridium septicum * flagellin
OECD category: Microbiology
Impact factor: 2.8, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apm.13338

A total of, 78 Clostridium septicum (CLSE) isolates were screened for genes encoding: a-toxin, flagellin, and resistance to vancomycin (VANg). The isolates were also tested for their ability to form biofilm and their antibiotic susceptibility. All isolates were positive for a-toxin and flagellin genes. However, only 19 isolates (24.3%) showed prevalence for VANg. We observed the strongest capacity to form a biofilm (100%) in isolates from patients with oncologic or septic and febrile diagnoses. This percentage was also very high in patients with colitis and gastrointestinal hemorrhage (72.7%). No less than 43 isolates showed antibiotic resistance, and 21 were multidrug-resistant (MDR). Interestingly, our studies showed a correlation between antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. A statistically significant difference was observed between biofilm-forming MDR isolates and those with low/no biofilm-forming ability. However, the most impressive observation was the correlation with mortality rate. While the overall mortality rate for CLSE infections was 16.7% (13/78), the mortality rate for patients infected with MDR isolates forming biofilm moderately or strongly reached 38.1% (8/21). This number increased even further when only infections with the biofilm-forming VANg-positive isolates were considered (61.5%, 8/13). Therefore, the ability of a VANg-positive CLSE isolate to form a biofilm has been suggested as a biomarker of poor prognosis.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345769