Table 1 Characteristics associated with carbapenemase-producing organisms commonly encountered in clinical practice

A

KPC-2, KPC-3

Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli

First isolated in US in 1996; now endemic in US, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Poland, Italy, Greece, Israel, and China [6]

All beta-lactams; often also fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides [7]

B

NDM-1

K. pneumoniae, E. coli

First isolated in Sweden from a traveler previously hospitalized in New Delhi; large environmental reservoirs in India, Pakistan, Middle East, and the Balkans [8]; recent ERCP-related nosocomial outbreak associated with infected endoscopes reported in Chicago, IL [9]

Plasmids carry resistance genes to all beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, macrolides, rifampin, and trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole [8]

D

OXA-48

K. pneumoniae

First identified in Turkey in 2003; multiple nosocomial outbreaks reported since then throughout the world [7]

All beta-lactams