Investigating the Molecular Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) Among Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit
Date:
10/21/2025
Locations:
Citation:
Sharara SL, Simner PJ, Bergman Y, Jacobs E, Fiawoo S, Klein EY, Cosgrove SE, Tamma PD. Investigating the Molecular Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) Among Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025 Oct 21;12(10):ofaf590. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaf590. PMID: 41127454; PMCID: PMC12538287.
Abstract
At a United States hospital, sequencing of ICU rectal surveillance cultures indicated 5% ESBL-E colonization. Of confirmed ESBL isolates, 91% were Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae; 6% carried non-bla <inf>CTX-M</inf> genes. Only 53% of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales harbored ESBL genes, underscoring the limitations of phenotypic approaches as ESBL surrogates, particularly for non-E. coli/K. pneumoniae species.