Profile of carbapenemase genes among sepsis patients at a tertiary hospital in Indonesia

Fadrian, Fadrian
Linosefa, Linosefa
Ahmad, Armen
Ulvyana, Vyora
Putri, Vidola Yasena
Fasril, Thira

JKKI : Jurnal Kedokteran dan Kesehatan Indonesia
JKKI, Vol 17, No 2, (2026)

Background: Multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria represent a major clinical challenge in patients with sepsis. Recent data indicate that the increasing global prevalence of carbapenemase-producing bacteria poses an urgent threat to public health. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the distribution of carbapenemase genes among sepsis patients at Dr. M. Djamil General Hospital, Padang. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 211 specimens obtained from sepsis patients over a nine-month period of hospitalization at Dr. M. Djamil General Hospital. Specimens consisted of blood, respiratory, pus, and urine specimens. Detection of carbapenemase genes including blaKPC, blaOXA, blaNDM, blaVIM, blaIMP, and blaGES was performed using real-time PCR. Data were analyzed descriptively and the Chi-square test was used with IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0. Results: Among the sepsis patients included in the study, 211 specimens were analyzed; most patients were aged over 60 years (53.1%) and were predominantly male (57.3%). The most frequent sources of infection were CAP (52.1%) and HAP (33.2%). Positive bacterial cultures were found in 58.8% of patients, with Klebsiella pneumoniae (39.8%) and Escherichia coli (7.6%) being the most prevalent isolates. The distribution of carbapenemase genes was dominated by the blaOXA gene (33.6%) and the blaNDM gene (22.3%), while blaGES (4.7%), blaVIM (4.3%), and blaIMP (0.9%) were identified in only a limited number of isolates. The mean SOFA score was 5.75 ± 3.16, and the overall mortality rate was 66.4%. The results of statistical analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between the presence of the carbapenemase gene and mortality (OR 0.683; 95% CI=0.384–1.216; p=0.195). Isolates carrying carbapenemase genes were significantly associated with carbapenem resistance (OR=11.15; 95% CI: 5.28–23.55; p<0.05).Conclusion: In this study, blaOXA and blaNDM were the predominant genes, while blaVIM, blaGES, and blaIMP were detected in a limited number of isolates.