Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology
Distribution, carbapenem resistance and DTR dynamics of ESKAPEEc pathogens from pediatric bloodstream infections in Sichuan Province, 2017-2025: epidemiological characteristics under COVID-19 pandemic and emerging linezolid MIC creep
By Long S, Zhong M, Liu X and 4 others.
Abstract
Objective
To characterize the distribution and antimicrobial resistance evolution of ESKAPEEc pathogens causing pediatric bloodstream infections in Sichuan Province across the COVID-19 era, and to systematically evaluate the epidemiology of carbapenem resistance (CR), difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR), and MIC drift in vancomycin and linezolid, thereby addressing a long-standing gap in longitudinal pediatric multidrug-resistant surveillance in Southwest China.
Methods
A multicenter retrospective study was conducted using pediatric blood culture data from 134 healthcare institutions in Sichuan Province between 2017 and 2025. A total of 20,018 isolates were included and stratified into pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and DTR classification were interpreted according to CLSI M100 (35th edition) criteria. Statistical analyses were performed using WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 26.0.