Occurrence of PER-1 producing clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Japan and their susceptibility to doripenem

The acquisition of resistance by extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) has been reported primarily for Enterobacteriaceae, but there are few reports on the isolation of ESBL-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PER-1-type ESBL producing P aeruginosa has been found in various regions around the world but there are no reports of clinical isolates in Japan. During our susceptibility surveillance studies over a 10 year period, we found four clinical isolates resistant to ceftazidime due to production of PER-1. They were resistant to ceftazidime but susceptible in the presence of clavulanic acid, a class A P-lactamase inhibitor. The strains had the ability to hydrolyze ceftazidime. They also had the gene for PER-1-type ESBL. This is the first report of the isolation of PER-1 producing strains in Japan. These four strains were resistant to ceftazidime, cefepime and aztreonam with MICs of 64 mu g/ml or more, but were more susceptible to carbapenem antibiotics. In particular, doripenem, which is a novel carbapenem antibiotic, showed good antibacterial activity with a MIC of 2 or 4 mu g/ml, which was more potent than meropenem and imipenem. Doripenem also showed good therapeutic efficacy against a systemic infection of mice with a PER-I producing strain, and was also more potent in vivo than imipenem or meropenem.