Hypermucoviscous Klebsiella Pneumoniae Caused Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: The incidence of hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumoniae (hmvKp), which complicates community-acquired pneumonia, has been increasing recently. This study aimed to detect hypermucoviscous K. pneumoniae and determine its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia in Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 39 K. pneumoniae isolates identified by using Gram stain, culture, and biochemical tests from 312 adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Referral Hospital from April to June 2021. The hypermucoviscous strains were identified by using the string test. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by using the Kirby-Bauer disk dif-fusion method. Data were entered by using EPI data version 4.6 and were analyzed by using SPSS version 20. A p-value ≤ 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant.

Results: Overall, 35.9% (n = 14) of the 39 K. pneumoniae isolates were hypermucoviscous phenotype. The mean age of the hmvKp group was lower than of the cKp group (36.93 ± 12.573 vs. 53.52 ± 19.556 years, p = 0.007). All hmvKp isolates were resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Azithromycin resistance in the hmvKp strains was significantly higher than in the cKp group (p = 0.012).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the hmvKp phenotype causes community-acquired pneumonia and a full resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Antimicrobial resistance was higher in the hmvKp strain than in the classic strains. Further detection of resistance genes, capsular serotypes, hypermucoviscosity-related genes, and virulence genes is necessary.