Extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL) production in Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated from Chilean hospitals belonging to VIII Region

The resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii to ss-lactam antibiotics is mainly due to the synthesis of ss-lactamases. From a clinical point of view, this bacteria and others, grouped under the acronym SPACE (S: Serratia, P: Pseudomonas, A: Acinetobacter, C: Citrobacter, E: Enterobacter) are essentially Amp-C ss-lactamases producers. There is no local information about ESBL presence in Acinetobacter. We studied ESBL production using the Ho and col. technique modified by adding cloxacillin as chromosomal ss-lactamases inhibitor. From 69 isolates, with resistance to at least one third generation cephalosporin, only 7 showed positive synergy test. Four of these amplified for TEM family gene, and one of these amplified also for the OXA family. Our study found a low ESBL production percentage, which agrees with the premise of Amp-C as the main mechanism of resistance to ss-lactam antibiotics in A. baumannii. However, the ESBL description in these bacteria emphasizes the capacity of expressing multiple resistance mechanisms.