A Selective Culture Medium for Screening Carbapenem Resistance in Pseudomonas spp.

Purpose: The SuperCP medium containing meropenem (2 mg/L) was evaluated for screening of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas species. Materials and Methods: It was evaluated using 29 meropenem-susceptible and 56 meropenem-nonsusceptible Pseudomonas-like clinical isolates, the latter exhibiting a variety of carbapenem-resistance mechanisms. Results: Its sensitivity and specificity of detection were found to be 91% and 100%, respectively. By testing spiked stools, an excellent performance of the medium was also observed for detection of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with a lowest detection limit ranging from 100 to 102 CFU/mL. Conclusion: This screening medium provides the opportunity to select carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas and Pseudomonas-related isolates regardless of their resistance mechanism.