Presence of the KPC Carbapenemase Gene in Enterobacteriaceae Causing Bacteremia and Its Correlation with In Vitro Carbapenem Susceptibility

During 6 months, we obtained Enterobacteriaceae isolates from patients with gram-negative bacteremia at a 1,250-bed teaching hospital in St. Louis, MO, and compared carbapenem susceptibilities with the presence of (KPC)-K-bla, a transferable carbapenemase gene. Three (1.2%) out of 243 isolates were (KPC)-K-bla positive. Ertapenem nonsusceptibility had a low positive predictive value.