In our study, we analyzed 132 isolates of ESBL-positive E. coli sampled from 66 patients form Central Slovenian region and isolated at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana. Patients isolates were included in the study if the first ESBL-positive E. coli was isolate from surveillance sample followed by a blood culture isolate at a later date. Using the ERIC-PCR method, we were able to distinguish 33 different ERIC profiles. At the same time, we found that 78,8 % of isolates from blood cultures and 75,8 % of isolates from surveillance samples belonged to phylogenetic group B2. 53 % of patients (35) had genetically the same isolate in surveillance samples and blood cultures, of which 80,6 % were E. coli ST131. We compared the genotypes of isolates in surveillance samples, which were not the cause of bacetiemia or sepsis with isolates from hemocultures. We found statistically significant presence of the aerobactin operon (82,3 %), the capsule gene kpsMTII (82,3 %), the autotransporter gene sat (74,2 %), the genotoxin gene usp (69,4 %) and the adhesin genes iha (69,4 %) and afa/dra (40,3 %) in the nonclonal isolates from bloodstream infections. The presence of these genes in rectal isolates could be used to predict a higher risk of developing serious extraintestinal ESBL-E. coli infections based on genetic characteristics of the colonizing isolate.
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