Risk Factors and Outcomes for Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolation, Stratified by Its Multilocus Sequence Typing: ST258 Versus Non-ST258.

A "high risk" clone of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) identified by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) as sequence type (ST) 258 has disseminated worldwide. As the molecular epidemiology of the CRE pandemic continues to evolve, the clinical impact of non-ST258 strains is less well defined. We conducted an epidemiological investigation of CRKP based on strains MLST. Among 68 CRKP patients, 61 were ST258 and 7 belonged to non-ST258. Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258 strains were significantly associated with bla KPC production and with resistance to an increased number of antimicrobials. Clinical outcomes were not different. Based on this analysis, one cannot rely solely on the presence of bla KPC in order to diagnose CRKP.