Asma Yaqoob, Namra Yunus, Sameen Bit Ali, Hirra Ghaffar, Aqsa Aslam, Sadaf Nasir.
Frequency of OXA-48 Gene in the Enterobacteriaceae in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Jan ;5(1):6-11.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of OXA-48 gene in the Enterobacteriaceae isolated from the clinical samples of hospitalized patients. Methodology: This was a descriptive epidemiological study conducted at the Microbiology Department of Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. This study was approved by the ethical committee of the institution. The clinical specimens received in the Microbiology Laboratory for routine culture and sensitivity from the hospitalized patients were analyzed. Pure growths of 188 lactose fermenting Enterobacteriaceae were isolated from a diverse range of clinical samples from different clinical departments. The obtained bacterial growths were identified by their colony morphology and gram staining. After phenotypic identification by biochemical testing, these isolates were subjected to conventional PCR for confirming the presence of OXA-48 gene. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Results: Among 188 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 60(31.9%) isolates were carrying OXA-48 gene. Most vulnerable age group harboring OXA 48 gene was 41-50 years (30%). There was a male preponderance of positive cases, as 51.7% of positive cases were recovered from male patients and 48.3% of female patients carried this gene. Majority of OXA-48 positive cases were isolated from urine samples (66.7%). Out of all the Enterobacteriaceae, Klebsiella species was the most common carrier (44%) of OXA-48 gene. Conclusion: The global spread of antimicrobial resistance especially Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in recent years has been exceptionally high. OXA-48, a member of carbapenem hydrolyzing enzymes of group-D is also emerging in Pakistan. Our study showed that the frequency of OXA-48 gene is high (31.9%) in Enterobacteriaceae. Keywords: OXA-48 gene. Carbapenemases. Enterobacteriaceae. Klebsiella.

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