Evolving epidemiology of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Portugal: 2012 retrospective cohort at a tertiary hospital in Lisbon.

Despite great efforts to enhance European epidemiological surveillance on carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), information from several countries remains scarce. To address CPE epidemiology in Portugal, we have undertaken a retrospective cohort study of adults with CPE cultures identified in the microbiology laboratory of a tertiary hospital, in 2012. Sixty patients from 25 wards or intensive care units were identified. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of clinical data on CPE in Portugal. It shows a hospital-wide CPE dissemination and alerts us to an evolving epidemiological situation not previously described.