Evaluation of eazyplex® SuperBug CRE Test for Beta-Lactamase Genes Detection in Klebsiella spp. and P. aeruginosa Strains

The multi-drug resistance of Gram-negative rods is one of the most important issues of present medicine. In recent years, more and more strains resistant to the majority or to all possible therapeutic options have been isolated—especially Klebsiella spp. and Pseudomonas spp. representatives. It is very important to detect strains with these phenotypes as quickly and reliably as possible. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of eazyplex® SuperBug CRE test (Amplex Diagnostics) for the detection of the most important beta-lactam resistance genes. eazyplex® SuperBug CRE test is based on the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method, and detects genes for the following beta-lactamases: KPC, NDM-1, VIM, OXA-48, CTX-M1, CTX-M9 and OXA-181. The study involved 87 strains. For all of the positive strains in the LAMP method, additional PCR were performed to increase the spectrum of ESBLs detected by the genes encoding for enzymes belonging to TEM and SHV families. The results obtained by the tested method and standard PCR were consistent for all Klebsiella spp. strains. The discrepancy between the evaluated test and PCR results was observed for one P. aeruginosa strain. The eazyplex® SuperBug CRE test can be used for quick detection of the most important beta-lactam resistance mechanisms amongst Gram-negative rods.