In vitro activity of antimicrobial agents with and without sulbactam, EDTA and sulbactam-EDTA on ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli isolated from healthy Tibetan yaks

Background: The spread of ESBLs-producing bacteria has been strikingly rapid in many regions of the world and it causes therapeutic difficulties in everyday practice. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence and susceptibilities of ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli isolates from healthy Tibetan yaks in China, to evaluate the activity of drug combinations on ESBLs-producing E. coli isolates. Methods From July 2018 to August 2019, a total of 750 nasal swab samples were tested for the presence of E. coli and ESBLs-producing strains. The MICs of 11 antimicrobial agents alone and combinations with sulbactam, EDTA or sulbactam-EDTA against 240 ESBLs-producing E.coli strains were determined by the broth microdilution method. Results Overall, 59.87% (n = 449) of the samples were positive for E. coli , 240 (53.45%) of 449 E. coli isolates were confirmed to be ESBLs-producing. The addition of sulbactam to the third generation cephalosporins, amikacin and fosfomycin for all isolates resulted in low MICs, increasing the level of susceptibility from 0, 0 and 0% to 50 ~ 87.5, 4.2 and 100% respectively. The addition of EDTA to fluoroquinolones, doxycycline, florfenicol, amikacin and fosfomycin, showed improved activities and resulted in low MICs, increasing the level of susceptibility from 0, 0, 8.3, 0 and 0% to 4.2 ~ 29.2, 33.3, 33.3, 66.7 and 45.8%, respectively. All other antibacterials (except fluoroquinolones, doxycycline and florfenicol), when combined with sulbactam-EDTA, were found to be more active than combinations only with sulbactam or with EDTA against most of isolates, with lower MIC 50 s and MIC 90 s. Conclusion In conclusion, ESBLs-producing E. coli isolates were widespread in healthy Tibetan yaks in China. ESBLs-producing E. coli isolates exhibited varying degrees of multidrug resistance. This study these findings suggested that sulbactam can enhance activity of β-lactams and some non-β-lactams of antimicrobial agents and had a synergistic effects with EDTA in improving activities of some families of antimicrobials.