Characterization of Enterococcus Isolates Colonizing the Intestinal Tract of Intensive Care Unit Patients Receiving Selective Digestive Decontamination.

ABSTRACT: Enterococci have emerged as important opportunistic pathogens in intensive care units (ICUs). In this study, enterococcal population size and Enterococcus isolates colonizing the intestinal tract of ICU patients receiving Selective Digestive Decontamination (SDD) were investigated. All nine patients included in the study showed substantial shifts in the enterococcal 16S rRNA gene copy number in the gut microbiota during the hospitalization period. Furthermore, 41 Enterococcus spp. strains were isolated and characterized from these patients at different time points during and after ICU hospitalization, including E. faecalis (n = 13), E. faecium (n = 23), and five isolates that could not unequivocally assigned to a specific species (E. sp. n =

SUBMITTER: Bello Gonzalez TDJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5581364 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature