Background: The emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae  (CR-ECL) have posed a serious threat to clinical management. This retrospective study assessed the epidemiological characteristics of CR-ECL to explore the risk factors and predictors of mortality in patients with CR-ECL infection.
Methods: We performed a retrospective 1:2 case-control study of hospitalized patients from January 2014 to December 2017. A total of 85 consecutive unique CR-ECL strains comprised the case group, and 170 matched patients with carbapenem-susceptible Enterobacter cloacae  (CS-ECL) infection at the same period as the control group. Isolates were screened for potential resistance genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and molecular typing was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST).
Results: The results of drug resistance gene detection showed that blaNDM-1  was the most common carbapenem resistance gene. The MLST results showed that ST51 was the predominant epidemic type, followed by ST88. ICU admission (P < 0.001), drainage tube (P =0.002), central venous catheter (P =0.005), and carbapenem exposure (P =0.003) were independent risk factors for CR-ECL infection. Significant predictors for 28-day mortality included solid tumours (P =0.005), septic shock (P =0.019), and mechanical ventilation (P =0.027).
Conclusion: Our study indicated that ST51 and ST88, which are closely related, were the predominant epidemic types of CR-ECL producing blaNDM-1  in southwestern China. Strengthening the surveillance of patients with solid tumours, septic shock and mechanical ventilation is an urgent need.
Keywords: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae , epidemiological characteristics, risk factors, predictors of mortality