Current status of carbapenem resistance: epidemiology and microbiological aspects

Abstract

Nowadays, the infections due to carbapenem-resistant microorganism represent a global public health issue; the microorganisms most frequently involved are the gram-negative bacteria. This infections pose a major threat because of their elevated mortality, the lack of appropiate antibiotics and its rapid spread arround the world. The emergence of carbapenemases, which are a type of enzimes that hydrolize carbapenems, is the resistance mecanism more frequently involved. The aim of this literature review is to analyse the epidemiology arround the world and ,overall, in Europe; as well as the microbiological aspects of the carbapenem restistant bateria: carbapenemases can be classified into different types and are detected by several laboratory methods as well as its detection methods in laboratory. All this are key aspects and have a great impact on the clinical management of these infections.