# Microbiological profiles of Gram-negative bacteria isolated from respiratory samples of mechanically ventilated patients at a tertiary Moroccan hospital

Article · El Ftouh S, Tligui H, Vila J, Aberouch L, Dendane T, Oualili L, Ssouni O, Faroudy M, Zeggwagh AA, Doumiri M, Pitart C, Piquet M, Guiral E, Abidi K

- Archive id: doi:10.1016/j.ijregi.2026.100969
- Published: 2026-08-11
- Venue: IJID regions
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijregi.2026.100969
- PMID: 42824716
- PMCID: PMC13627934
- Citations: 0
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijregi.2026.100969
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13627934/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## Abstract

Objectives To characterise the Gram-negative bacteria implicated in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), focusing on their antimicrobial resistance profiles and phylogenetic relationships. Methods Seventy-eight isolates were collected from protected distal samples over two years; patients were under mechanical ventilation in the three adult ICUs of a Moroccan tertiary hospital. Isolates were identified using VITEK2. PFGE and FTIR determined genetic relationships, whereas the detection of genetic resistance determinants was carried out using PCR. Results Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii harbouring the bla - OXA-23 was the predominant Gram-negative bacterium. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most prevalent among the Enterobacterales, with a high resistance rate to almost all antibiotics, due to the coexistence of ( bla ) CTX-M-1, TEM, SHV , and OXA-48-like genes. Escherichia coli exhibited high resistance to ciprofloxacin (86%), ceftazidime (86%), and cotrimoxazole (71%). Proteus mirabilis was highly resistant to cotrimoxazole (60%) and ticarcillin (80%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was resistant to carbapenems in 39% of cases, in which bla NDM and bla VIM were the only metallo-beta-lactamase genes detected. In phylogenetic analysis, both FTIR and PFGE techniques underscored no epidemiological relationship among strains. Conclusion The prevalence of MDR and XDR bacteria among VAP cases in a tertiary hospital in Morocco is increasing, potentially due to the coexistence of antimicrobial resistance genes.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Infectious Disease, Vaccines & Antimicrobial Resistance](https://space-kitty.com/topics/infectious-disease-amr)

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