[Detection of metallo-beta-lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from hospitalized patients in Goiânia, State of Goiás].

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium frequently isolated from hospital environments. This study had the aims of evaluating the susceptibility profile of Pseudomonas aeruginosa previously isolated from patients in a hospital in Goiânia (Goiás, Brazil), performing phenotypic screening for metallo-beta-lactamase production and detecting its genes using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Seventy-five 75 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were evaluated between January 2005 and January 2007. Biochemical identification was performed using the API 20E system and an antibiogram was produced using the Kirby-Bauer method. Among the 62 isolates that were resistant to imipenem and ceftazidime, 35 (56.4%) produced metallo-beta-lactamase, while 26 (74.3%) showed the bla(SPM-1) gene. The frequency of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that produces metallo-beta-lactamase suggests that greater control over the dissemination of resistance in hospital environments is needed.