Comparison of the Superpolymyxin and ChromID Colistin R Screening Media for the Detection of Colistin-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae from Spiked Rectal Swabs.

The dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) has led to the increased use of colistin, which has resulted in the emergence of colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae worldwide. One of the most threatening scenarios is the dissemination of colistin resistance in CPE, particularly the plasmid-encoded resistance element MCR. Thus, it has now become mandatory to possess reliable media to screen for colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacterial isolates, especially Enterobacteriaceae In this study, we evaluated the performances of the Superpolymyxin medium (ELITechGroup) and the ChromID Colistin R medium (bioMérieux) to screen for colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from spiked rectal swabs. Stool samples were spiked with a total of 94 enterobacterial isolates (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, Enterobacter cloacae), including 53 colistin-resistant isolates. ESwabs (Copan Diagnostics) were then inoculated with those spiked fecal suspensions, and culture proceeded as recommended by both manufacturers. The sensitivity of detection of colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae was 86.8% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 74.0% to 94.0%) using both the Superpolymyxin medium and the ChromID Colistin R plates. Surprisingly, the isolates that were not detected were not the same for both media. The specificities were high for both media, at 97.9% (95% CI = 87.3% to 99.9%) for the Superpolymyxin medium and 100% (95% CI = 90.4% to 100%) for the ChromID Colistin R medium. Both commercially available media, ChromID Colistin R and Superpolymyxin, provide useful tools to screen for colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from patient samples (rectal swabs) regardless of the level and mechanism of colistin resistance.