Carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem, biapenem, ertapenem, and doripenem) are β-lactam antimicrobial agents. Because carbapenems have the broadest spectra among all β-lactams and are primarily used to treat infections by multi-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, the emergence and spread of carbapenemases became a major public health concern. Carbapenemases are the most versatile family of β-lactamase...

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen that is frequently involved in outbreaks of infection, occurring mostly in intensive care units. The increasing incidence of carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii worldwide is a concern since it limits drastically the range of therapeutic alternatives. The most important mechanism of carbapenem resistance is the enzymatic hydrolysis mediated ...

Carbapenemases are a large and diverse family of microbial enzymes that hydrolyze not only carbapenems but also other b-lactams, with the occasional exception of monobactams, such as aztreonam. For clinicians, the nomenclature of carbapenemases, like that of other b-lactamases, is confusing. In keeping with other b-lactamases, carbapenemases can be classified on the basis of function or structu...

the emergence of multidrug resistance (mdr) and extensively drug resistance (xdr) in acinetobacter baumannii has made an important challenge in the treatment of infections caused by this organism. the ability of carbapenemase production is one of the main mechanisms for the emergence of mdr and/or xdr in a. baumannii. the aim of this study was to detect carbapenemase producer a. baumannii. in t...

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................440 CLASSIFICATION SCHEMES ................................................................................................................................440 MOLECULAR CLASS A CARBAPENEMASES ............................................

There is an urgent need for rapid, accurate detection and classification of carbapenemases. The current study evaluated the automated BD Phoenix CPO Detect and the manual bioMérieux Rapidec Carba NP tests for meeting these needs. Both tests were challenged with 294 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii chosen to provide extreme diagnostic diffi...

The greatest threat to antimicrobial treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria is the production of carbapenemases. Metallo-beta-lactamases and plasmid-mediated serine carbepenemases like Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenemase are threatening the utility of almost all currently available beta-lactams including carbapenems. Detection of organisms producing carbapenemases can be diffic...

The most important mechanism of carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae is the production of carbapenemases, although resistance can also result from the synergistic activity between AmpC-type or (to a lesser extent) extended-spectrum beta-lactamases combined with decreased outer membrane permeability. Three major molecular classes of carbapenemases are recognized: A, B and D. Classes A and...