ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Allan Jay C. Espiritu1,2 and Sharon Yvette Angelina M. Villanueva2
1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Natural Sciences, Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St, Baguio City 2600, Philippines.
2College of Public Health, University of the Philippines, 625 Pedro Gil St, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila, Philippines.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2022;16(1):620-629 | Article Number: 7327
https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.16.1.63 | © The Author(s). 2022
Received: 17/09/2021 | Accepted: 24/01/2022 | Published online: 25/02/2022
Issue online: March 2022
Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are considered adverse outcomes of confinement in a healthcare facility. Biofilm-producing, drug-resistant bacteria have further aggravated the problem with HCAIs. This study determined the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and biofilm phenotype of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) isolated from a hospital environment in Northern Philippines. The identification of CoNS species and the determination of antibiotic susceptibility were done using an automated assay. Biofilm production was detected using tissue culture plate (TCP) and Congo red agar (CRA) methods. Out of 220 surfaces and 26 air samples collected, 103 (41.9%) CoNS strains were isolated, predominated by S. epidermidis with 30.1% prevalence. The medical ward was found to have the highest prevalence of CoNS at 64%. The CoNS isolates exhibited a variable resistance profile; the highest was found against penicillin (97.1%) and oxacillin (54.3%). Isolates manifesting resistance to linezolid and vancomycin were also detected. From the 103 CoNS isolates, 52 (50.5%) biofilm producers were detected using the TCP method, and 39 (37.9%) were detected by the CRA method. Statistically significant difference was found between the biofilm biomass and the slime-producing pattern. This study revealed the prevalence of biofilm-producing, drug-resistant strains of CoNS in a Level 3 hospital in Northern Philippines. This warrants further enhancement of infection prevention and control programs to avert the emergence of more biofilm-producing, drug-resistant bacterial strains that could pose formidable threats to public health.

Keywords

Healthcare-associated infection, tissue culture plate method, Congo red agar method

Article Metrics

Article View: 555

Share This Article

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.