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Antibiotics
Special Issues
Antibiotic Resistance in Hospital-Acquired Infections
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Antibiotic Resistance in Hospital-Acquired Infections

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Antibiotic Therapy in Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 2136

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Andreea-Loredana Golli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Management, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, Craiova, Romania
Interests: epidemiology of multidrug-resistant pathogens; infection prevention and control; healthcare-associated infections surveillance; public heath; vaccines
Dr. Ovidiu Zlatian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Bacteriology-Virology-Parasitology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania
Interests: epidemiology of multidrug-resistant pathogens; infection prevention and control; healthcare-associated infections surveillance; public heath; vaccines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alice Elena Ghenea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Bacteriology-Virology-Parasitology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania
Interests: antibiotic resistance mechanisms; resistance surveillance; molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant pathogens; antimicrobial stewardship and infection control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) represent an important problem in public health, with more than 3.5 million cases of HAI estimated to occur in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) each year, leading to more than 90 000 deaths.

Moreover, a problem of great concern is the selection of multidrug-resistant, extensively-drug resistant and pan-drug resistant pathogens, with major consequences on the therapeutic options, leading to a sharp increase in the number of attributable deaths.

Over 70% of the health impact of antibiotic-resistant infections is directly linked to healthcare-associated infections. This could be minimized through the judicious use of antibiotics, adequate infection prevention and control measures and active surveillance, leading to a reduction in the circulation and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens.

For the purpose of increasing the knowledge of the health burden of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and identifying the best possible measures to fight this crucial public health issue, this Special Issue of Antibiotics is seeking research articles and literature reviews focused on epidemiology, clinical characteristics, prevention and infection control strategies of healthcare-associated infections, the impact of hospital-acquired infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria on patient outcomes and trends and patterns of antimicrobial resistance of bacterial pathogens during and after the COVID-19 era.

Dr. Andreea-Loredana Golli
Dr. Ovidiu Zlatian
Dr. Alice Elena Ghenea
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • healthcare-associated infections
  • multi-drug resistance
  • epidemiology
  • antimicrobial therapy
  • patient outcomes
  • infection prevention and control strategies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2224 KiB  
Article
Development and Validation of a Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay for Rapid Screening of Main Carbapenemase Genes in Clinical Isolates and Surveillance Samples
by Francisco Javier Chamizo-López, José Gutiérrez-Fernández, María Dolores Rojo-Martín, Ana Belén Borrego-Alcaide, Alba González-Hevilla, Ana Lara-Oya, Begoña Palop-Borrás, José María Navarro-Marí and Mercedes Pérez-Ruiz
Antibiotics 2025, 14(4), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14040363 - 1 Apr 2025
Viewed by 386
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, largely due to carbapenemase production, are significant public health threats, which compromise treatment with key β-lactam antibiotics. Early detection is essential for guiding therapy and controlling spread. This study describes the design, optimisation and validation of a multiplex real-time [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, largely due to carbapenemase production, are significant public health threats, which compromise treatment with key β-lactam antibiotics. Early detection is essential for guiding therapy and controlling spread. This study describes the design, optimisation and validation of a multiplex real-time PCR for the screening of the most frequent carbapenemases in our area. Methods: Primers and probes targeted at genes encoding carbapenemases blaKPC, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaNDM and blaOXA-48-group were designed and adapted for the development, and in silico and experimental validation of a single-tube real-time PCR. Results: A good linear correlation between the fluorescence values in the real-time PCR and the log10 of bacterial concentration of each carbapenemase-containing bacterial suspension was observed (R2 > 0.98). The limit of detection was 2–15, 16–256, 42–184, 4–42, 42–226 CFU/reaction of VIM-, IMP-, NDM-, KPC- and OXA-48-carbapenemase-containing bacteria, respectively. Intra-assay coefficient of variation for the mean Ct values ranged from 0.99% for OXA-48 to 3.34% for KPC. Inter-assay variability remained below 7%. Real-time PCR tested on bacterial isolates yielded 100% sensitivity and specificity. Analysis of rectal swabs using extracted DNA and a DNA extraction-free protocol showed good concordance with culture-based phenotypic methods. Additionally, the molecular method could detect all targets, except for one sample where only the DNA extraction-free protocol detected NDM. Conclusions: The assay offers a rapid, sensitive and specific method for the screening of major carbapenemase genes, providing an effective tool for surveillance and infection control in clinical settings. The DNA extraction-free protocol converts this method into a good alternative for screening in 24/7 clinical laboratories. Further multiplexing to target other resistance genes, on demand, could add potential benefits to this laboratory-developed method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antibiotic Resistance in Hospital-Acquired Infections)
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15 pages, 1330 KiB  
Article
Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Pathogens Isolated from Pediatric Patients during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Andreea-Loredana Golli, Simona Georgiana Popa, Monica Laura Cara, George-Alin Stoica, Dragos Fortofoiu and Maria Stoica
Antibiotics 2024, 13(10), 966; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13100966 - 13 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1392
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The present study aims to highlight the possible significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the resistance of pathogens involved in cases of pediatric infections. Methods: This study included children hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Surgery and [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The present study aims to highlight the possible significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the resistance of pathogens involved in cases of pediatric infections. Methods: This study included children hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Surgery and Pediatrics from a tertiary teaching hospital, during and after the COVID-19 period (2020–2023). Results: The research included 845 samples collected during 2020–2023, from 685 pediatric patients. A total of 937 bacterial isolates were obtained, of which 509 isolates (54.32%) were Gram-negative bacteria. Around 30% of all the pathogens were multidrug-resistant (MDR), with a statistically significant increase post-pandemic, in the case of the MDR Escherichia coli strains (p < 0.05). A very high percentage of MDR Acinetobacter spp. isolates was found, with an important, but not statistically significant, increase in the post-pandemic period. The highest percentage of the MDR Gram-positive pathogens was registered in the case of S. aureus strains (31.80%). Over 20% of the Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) strains isolated between 2020 and 2023 were MDR, with an important increase in the post-COVID-19 period. The proportion of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens significantly decreased in the post-COVID-19 period compared with the COVID-19 period (p < 0.05), especially in the case of the Klebsiella spp. strains. Conclusions: Our findings revealed the increase in the post-COVID-19 period of the prevalence of MDR strains of Acinetobacter spp., CoNS, and Escherichia coli isolated in pediatric patient samples and a significant decline in the trend of the carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, which may be due to the testing rate and to the specific pathology of the pediatric patients hospitalized in the two periods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antibiotic Resistance in Hospital-Acquired Infections)
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