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Background. Biofilm produced from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the cause of infection induced by contact lenses, trauma and post-surgery infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate biofilm formation and the presence of the genes ndvB and tssC1 in ocular infection isolates of P. aeruginosa.
Methods. A total of 92 P . aeruginosa strains were collected from patients with ocular infection referred to Farabi Hospital between March 2014 and July 2015. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns were evaluated by the agar disc-diffusion method according to CLSI guidelines. PCR assays were used to detect ndvB and tssC1, genes associated with resistance in biofilm-producing P. aeruginosa isolates. Biofilm formation ability was examined by crystal violet microtitre plate assay.
Results. During the period of study, 92 P . aeruginosa were isolated from ocular infections including keratitis (n=84) and endophthalmitis (n=8). The highest resistance rates were seen against colistin (57.6 %) and gentamicin (50 %) and the lowest resistance rates were seen against imipenem (3.3 %), aztreonam (4.3 %), piperacillin-tazobactam (4.3 %), ceftazidime (4.3 %) and ciprofloxacin (5.4 %). Biofilm production ability was found in 100 % of the isolates. PCR assays showed that of the 92 P. aeruginosa isolates, 96.7 and 90.2 % harboured the genes ndvB and tssC1, respectively.
Conclusions. Our results showed a considerable ability of biofilm production, as well as the occurrence of biofilm-specific antimicrobial resistance genes (ndvB and tssC1), in P. aeruginosa isolates from ocular infections in Farabi Hospital.