Evaluation of a New Phenotypic OXA-48 Disk Test for Differentiation of OXA-48 Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Clinical Isolates

The current phenotypic methods for detecting carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) allow differentiation between class A and B carbapenemases, but they cannot confirm in a single test class D OXA-48 carbapenemase producers. In this study, we evaluated a new phenotypic test, the OXA-48 disk test, which is based on an imipenem disk and two blank disks adjacent to the imipenem disk, loaded with the tested strain and impregnated with EDTA and EDTA plus phenyl boronic acid (PBA), respectively. The evaluation of the OXA-48 disk test was performed with 81 genotypically confirmed OXA-48-type-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates (41 extended-spectrum β-lactamase [ESBL] producers, 3 AmpC producers, and 37 non-ESBL, non-AmpC producers). To measure the specificity of the test, 173 genotypically confirmed OXA-48-negative Enterobacteriaceae isolates (57 Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase [KPC] producers, 34 VIM producers, 23 KPC/VIM producers, 22 NDM producers, and 37 AmpC or ESBL producers and porin deficient) that were nonsusceptible to at least one carbapenem were chosen for testing. Using the imipenem disk and the distortion of the inhibition halo around both blank disks containing EDTA and EDTA/PBA, the test differentiated all but 3 of the 81 OXA-48 producers (sensitivity of 96.3%). The test was negative for OXA-48 production in all but 4 of the 173 carbapenem-nonsusceptible isolates producing other carbapenemases, AmpCs, or ESBLs (specificity of 97.7%). This evaluation shows that the OXA-48 disk test is an accurate phenotypic method for the direct differentiation of OXA-48-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Its use along with combined disk tests employing inhibitor-supplemented carbapenem disks might allow the differentiation of the currently known carbapenemase types in Enterobacteriaceae species and provide important infection control information.