Studies of Resistance to Multiple Antimicrobial Compounds and Salt Tolerance of Strains Isolated from Patients with Chronic Sinusitis

Maura Rojas-Pirela^1,4*, Luis Ramírez², Marianela Zambrano², María José Peña-Vera², Cristóbal Lárez-Velásquez^3* & Elizabeth Pérez-Pérez^2*

¹Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
²Laboratorio de Análisis Biotecnológico y Molecular (ANBIOMOL) “Prof. Guillermo López Corcuera”, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioanálisis, Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
³Laboratorio de Polímeros, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
⁴Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

Dr. Maura Rojas Pirela, Elizabeth Pérez-Pérez, Cristóbal Lárez-Velásquez, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela.

Keywords: Sinusitis; Enterobacteriacea; Multidrug-Resistance; Antibiotics; Salt-Tolerant

Abstract

Sinusitis is a symptomatic inflammation of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity affecting millions of people in the world. This condition can be caused by different factors, including fungi, viruses and bacteria. In this work different bacterial strains isolated from patients diagnosed with chronic sinusitis were characterized. The identification of these isolates was made by morphological, biochemical and microbiological studies. The isolates belonged to the family Enterobacteriaceae. At the genus level, the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli were found. Studies of resistance to different antimicrobial compounds showed that the isolates were simultaneously resistant to at least four of the commercially available antibiotics. Several of these antibiotics are beta-lactams and derivatives, such as amoxicillin, which are the antibiotics most used for the treatment of acute and chronic sinusitis. In addition, these isolates were found to be tolerant at NaCl concentrations of up to 5%.

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