High frequency body site translocation of nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa

TL;DR

This study shows that Pseudomonas aeruginosa often moves between body sites in hospital patients, mainly from the lungs to the gut, rather than being acquired separately.

Contribution

The study provides new evidence that P. aeruginosa translocates within patients, particularly from respiratory to gut sites.

Findings

27 patients had the same P. aeruginosa clone in multiple body sites.

Most translocation likely occurs from the lungs to the gut.

Mutations in antimicrobial resistance genes were enriched in all sample types.

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important nosocomial pathogen which can cause serious infections across diverse anatomic locations. Infections can spread within an individual to different body sites, but the rate and directionality of this process is unknown. Here, we explore within-host diversity as well as the body site translocation dynamics using de-convoluted metagenomic P. aeruginosa reads from 256 hospital patients sampled at both respiratory and gut sites. Of the 84 patients where P. aeruginosa genomes could be recovered, there were 27 cases where the same P. aeruginosa clone was detected across multiple body sites. Using a simulation approach, we find that the majority of body site sharing is likely due to within-patient translocation of clones rather than independent acquisition from the hospital environment. Using ancestral reconstruction, we predict that most clones likely occupied a respiratory niche, and that the probable direction of clone transmission is lung-to-gut. Analysis of within-patient variation highlights strong enrichment of mutations in genes associated with antimicrobial resistance, irrespective of sample type. We report significantly more translocation than has been previously reported and highlight that lower respiratory tract infections can result in persistent gut colonisation of P. aeruginosa, a major risk factor for sepsis in vulnerable patients.

Here, the authors report within-host diversity and body site translocation dynamics in hospital samples of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and reveal that body site sharing was likely due to within-patient translocation rather than independent acquisition.

Figures