Clonal spread and environmental persistence of carbapenem-resistant high-risk Pseudomonas aeruginosa in…

Cohort studyMicrobial cell (Graz, Austria)· 2026

Clonal spread and environmental persistence of carbapenem-resistant high-risk Pseudomonas aeruginosa in critical-care units of a Chilean national referral center for burn and trauma patients (2022).

Camila Ibarra, Gustavo Araya, Alhejandra Alvarez … Roberto M Vidal

Pulmonology & Critical CareCohort studyQ1IF 4.3

Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection was associated with longer hospital stays

Clonal spread and environmental persistence of carbapenem-resistant high-risk Pseudomonas aeruginosa in critical-care units of a Chilean national referral center for burn and trauma patients (2022).

Camila Ibarra … Roberto M Vidal

Microbial cell (Graz, Austria) · 2026

Background

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic nosocomial pathogen ranked by the World Health Organization (World Health Organization) as a high priority for research and the development of new antimicrobial therapies.

Purpose

To characterize carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CRPA) isolated from patients at the Hospital de Urgencia Asistencia Pública (HUAP), Chile in 2022, and to evaluate clonal diversity, resistance mechanisms, virulence factors, and clinical associations.

Methods

We analyzed 126 clinical CRPA isolates using PFGE, PCR screening of resistance and virulence genes, and whole-genome sequencing of 18 representative strains.

n = 126 clinical CRPA isolates

Results

carbapenem-resistant infection meant far longer hospital stays than the drug-susceptible group

84days

Carbapenem-resistant

39days

Carbapenem-susceptible

More results

PFGE revealed 25 pulsotypes, with L and Y being the predominant types.

Overall, 67% of isolates were XDR and 1% PDR.

Carbapenemase genes were absent in 115 isolates, while blaVIM and blaKPC were detected in 8 and 3 isolates, respectively.

More results

The exoS + / exoU + genotype was identified in 6 isolates; whole-genome sequencing revealed eight distinct sequence types, including previously described high-risk clones ST654, ST395, and ST274.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

Our findings highlight the circulation of high-risk P.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

aeruginosa clones in Chile and underscore the importance of molecular epidemiology in guiding infection control, optimizing antimicrobial therapy, and mitigating the clinical and economic burden of CRPA.

Clonal spread and environmental persistence of carbapenem-resistant high-risk Pseudomonas aeruginosa in critical-care units of a Chilean national referral center for burn and trauma patients (2022).

Clonal spread and environmental persistence of carbapenem-resistant high-risk Pseudomonas aeruginosa in critical-care units of a Chilean national referral center for burn and trauma patients (2022).

Related papers