The emergence of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is a major obstacle in the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs), and integron-mediated gene transfer contributes to this problem. This cross-sectional study included K. pneumoniae isolates obtained from urine samples of 200 patients diagnosed with UTI. Isolates were identified using culture and biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by disc diffusion against 14 antibiotics, including ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, cephalexin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, amikacin, and imipenem according to CLSI guidelines. Detection of class 1 integron integrase gene intI1 and gene cassettes dfrA5, dfrA7, and dfrA25 was performed by polymerase chain reaction using gene-specific primers that amplify target DNA sequences. Multidrug-resistance was observed in 94% of isolates, with high resistance to cephalexin (100%), ampicillin (99%), amoxicillin (99.5%), and cefotaxime (93%), whereas lower resistance was noted to imipenem (17%), gentamicin (21%), amikacin (21.5%), and ciprofloxacin (26%) (P < 0.05). PCR analysis showed that 31% of isolates carried the class 1 integron gene, while dfrA5, dfrA7, and dfrA25 were detected in 10%, 17%, and 12% of isolates, respectively, with dfrA7 being the most frequent cassette associated with integron-positive isolates. These findings indicate a high burden of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae in UTIs and highlight the role of class 1 integrons in the dissemination of resistance genes, emphasizing the need for continuous molecular surveillance and rational antibiotic use.
K. pneumoniae, UTIs, Resistance Patterns, Antibiotics, IntI1 gene
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