The Molecular Investigation of Class 1 and 2 Integrons among the Escherichia Coli Isolated from Urine Samples of Children in Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2016

Background: One of the most successful advances in bacteria is transmission of antibiotic resistance genes by integrons, which leads to the emergence of multiple drug resistant (MDR) species. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of class 1 and 2 integron among Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolated from children with urinary tract infection (UTI) in Imam Reza hospital, Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2016. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 89 Escherichia coli isolates were collected. After identification by biochemical tests, and evaluating antibiotic susceptibility tests using disk diffusion method, the frequency of class 1 and 2 integron were determined using specific primers and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. Findings: Of total of 89 studied samples, 53 (59.03%) isolates were multiple-drug resistant. The highest antibiotic resistance of isolates was to ampicillin (85.4%), and co-trimoxazole (68.5%), and the lowest was to imipenem (12.4%) and nitrofurantoin (16.8%). Frequency of class 1 and class 2 integron were 71.9% and 3.5%, respectively. There was significant relationship between the frequency of integrons and resistance to tetracycline and gentamicin (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that, in addition to the high prevalence of multiple-drug resistant isolates, the frequency of class I integron was also high in Escherichia coli species. Therefore, identifying frequency of integrons and their relationship with drug resistance patterns in bacterial isolates seems to be necessary.