Clonal Diversity, Biofilm Formation, and Antimicrobial Resistance among <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i> Strains from Cystic Fibrosis and Non-Cystic Fibrosis Patients
The intrinsic antibiotic resistance of <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i>, along with its ability to form biofilm both on abiotic surfaces and host tissues, dramatically affects the efficacy of the antibiotic therapy. In this work, 85 <i>S. maltophilia</i> strains isolated i...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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MDPI AG,
2020-01-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | The intrinsic antibiotic resistance of <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i>, along with its ability to form biofilm both on abiotic surfaces and host tissues, dramatically affects the efficacy of the antibiotic therapy. In this work, 85 <i>S. maltophilia</i> strains isolated in several hospital of central Italy and from several clinical settings were evaluated for their genetic relatedness (by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, PFGE), biofilm formation (by microtiter plate assay), and planktonic antibiotic resistance (by Kirby−Bauer disk diffusion technique). The <i>S. maltophilia</i> population showed a high genetic heterogeneity: 64 different PFGE types were identified, equally distributed in cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF strains, and some consisted of multiple strains. Most of the strains (88.2%) were able to form biofilm, although non-CF strains were significantly more efficient than CF strains. CF strains produced lower biofilm amounts than non-CF strains, both those from respiratory tracts and blood. Non-CF PFGE types 3 and 27 consisted of strong-producers only. Cotrimoxazole and levofloxacin were the most effective antibiotics, being active respectively against 81.2% and 72.9% of strains. CF strains were significantly more resistant to piperacillin/tazobactam compared to non-CF strains (90% versus 53.3%), regardless of sample type. Among respiratory strains, cotrimoxazole was more active against non-CF than CF strains (susceptibility rates: 86.7% versus 75%). The multidrug resistant phenotype was significantly more prevalent in CF than non-CF strains (90% versus 66.7%). Overall, the multidrug-resistance level was negatively associated with efficiency in biofilm formation. Our results showed, for the first time, that in <i>S. maltophilia</i> both classical planktonic drug resistance and the ability of biofilm formation might favor its dissemination in the hospital setting. Biofilm formation might in fact act as a survival mechanism for susceptible bacteria, suggesting that clinical isolates should be routinely assayed for biofilm formation in diagnostic laboratories. |
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| Item Description: | 2079-6382 10.3390/antibiotics9010015 |