Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Introduction: Rapid dissemination of carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae represents a major threat to patient care and public health. Rapid detection and identification provides effective treatment and proper infection control measures. Aim of the work: The purpose of the study was to detect carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae with the Rapidec carba np test. Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 101 clinical samples. Sixty Enterobacteriaceae isolates were identified to species level by the API 20E then screened for carbapenemase-production by ertapenem disk diffusion method and Minimum inhibitory concentration methods. Confirmation was done by the Modified Hodge Test and the Rapidec carba np test. Results: Among the 60 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, E.coli was the most commonly encountered (51.6%), followed by K. pneumoniae (38.3%), K. oxytoca (3.3%), E. cloacae (1.6%) and P. mirabilis (5%). Out of the 60 isolates, 25 isolates (41.6%) were screened to be carbapenem resistant by ertapenem disk diffusion (ETP) and 35 isolates (58.3%) were sensitive. Twenty seven isolates (45%) were screened positive by MIC and 33 isolates (55%) were negative. Twenty five isolates (41.6%) were confirmed to be carbapenem resistant by the Modified Hodge test (MHT) and 35 isolates (58.3%) were sensitive. Twenty seven isolates (45%) were confirmed to be carbapenem resistant by the Rapidec carba np test and 33 isolates (55%) were sensitive. Conclusions: The Rapidec carba np test overall sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 94.29% in detecting carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates

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