Patterns of mutations in target genes in septicemia isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae with resistance or reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin

Thirty-two Escherichia coli and 21 Klebsiella pneumoniae septicemia isolates with varying degrees of resistance to ciprofloxacin were analyzed for the presence of point mutations within the quinolone-resistance target genes. The number of mutations observed in the resistant isolates agreed with the level of ciprofloxacin resistance in both species. Such isolates were also resistant to nalidixic acid. Isolates with borderline susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, on the other hand, behaved differently in the two species. In E coli all the isolates harbored at least one mutation and these isolates were also resistant to nalidixic acid, while no mutations were detected in the K pneumoniae isolates, and susceptibility to nalidixic acid was unpredictable. Therefore, nalidixic acid cannot be used as a class representative. Time-kill curve studies on an isolate with borderline susceptibility from each species showed higher degrees of resistance to ciprofloxacin in comparison to that of the wild-type E coli. A previously unreported parC mutation, S57-->T, was detected in a resistant E coli isolate and might expand the QRDR of this gene. Normalized resistance interpretations of histograms confirmed the setting of microbiological zone breakpoints for ciprofloxacin testing.