Antibiotic Resistance Patterns and Prevalence of Class I, II and III Integrons among Escherichia coli Strains collected from Urinary Tract Infections in Patients Referred to Amiralmomenin Hospital, Zabol, Iran

Background and objectives: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most prevalent infection and Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the main causes of UTI worldwide. Integrons are mobile genetic elements considered to be responsible for dissemination of multi-drug resistance infections. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the antibiotic resistance patterns and distribution of class I, II and III integrons among E. coli isolated from patients. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, from Jun 2020 to March 2021, in total, 70 non-duplicate strains of E. coli were isolated from patients with UTI referred to Amiralmomenin hospital, Zabol, Iran. Antibiotic resistance patterns were determined using Kirby-Bauer’s disk diffusion method and Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Class I, II and III integrons were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The isolates showed high resistance toward ampicillin (77.1%), trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole (58.5%) and ceftriaxone (35%), whereas were mostly susceptible to meropenem (97%). Based on results of PCR, 34 (48.6%) and 3 (4.3%) isolates were classified as class I and class II integron-positive strains, respectively. Conclusion: Resistance rate to ampicillin, ceftriaxone and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was at a high level and their prescription should be restricted. Class I integron is widely distributed among E. coli isolates and play a crucial role in the emergence of antibiotic resistance