Prevalence and Characterization of Carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli from a Tertiary Care Hospital in India.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and to characterize the carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli by various phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods, and its performance was compared to the gold standard genotypic method. The prevalence of carbapenemase-resistant E. coli was found to be 65%. The phenotypic methods evaluated are cost-effective and can be used in resource-limited laboratories to rule out carbapenem resistance.