frequency of qnr and aac(6’)ib-cr genes among esbl-producing klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from burn patients in kermanshah, iran

Background: assessment of bacteria such as klebsiella pneumonia has shown that plasmid-mediated uinolone resistance (pmqr) affects antibiotics resistance (e.g., quinolones). objectives: we studied the prevalence of qnr and aac (6’)ib-cr genes in extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (esbl)-producing k. pneumonia strains isolated from burn wounds of patients in the city of kermanshah, iran. methods: this descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 126 k. pneumonia strains isolated collected from burn wounds. biochemical tests were used to detect the strains. the frequency of the esbl-producing isolates was determined by phenotypic tests of the combination disk (cd) method after determining the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the isolates through the kirby-bauer disc diffusion test. the prevalence of the qnr and aac(6’)-ib-cr genes was determined using their special primers as well as polymerase chain reaction (pcr). results: of the 126 k. pneumoniaisolates, 52 (41.3%) were identified as esbl-producing strains. esbl-producing isolates showed higher resistance against antibiotics than non-esbl-producing ones. pmqr relevance and resistance to ciprofloxacin were, respectively, determined at 80.76% and 59.6%. the most frequent gene was aac(6’)-ib-cr (n = 70, 55.6%), followed by the qnrb (n = 44, 34.9%). conclusions: this study showed a high prevalence of qnr genes in esbl-producing k. pneumonia isolates and antibiotic resistance. given the horizontal transmission of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria by mobile genetic elements, timely identification of infections caused by esbl-producing and antimicrobial-resistant k. pneumonia strains is of paramount importance.