Rodger, G;
Chau, K;
Aranega-Bou, P;
Roohi, A;
Moore, G;
Hopkins, KL;
Hopkins, S;
... Stoesser, N; + view all
(2024)
A workflow for the detection of antibiotic residues, measurement of water chemistry and preservation of hospital sink drain samples for metagenomic sequencing.
Journal of Hospital Infection
, 144
pp. 128-136.
10.1016/j.jhin.2023.11.021.
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Abstract
Background: Hospital sinks are environmental reservoirs that harbour healthcare-associated (HCA) pathogens. Selective pressures in sink environments, such as antibiotic residues, nutrient waste and hardness ions, may promote antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) exchange between bacteria. However, cheap and accurate sampling methods to characterise these factors are lacking. / Aim: To validate a workflow to detect antibiotic residues and evaluate water chemistry using dipsticks. Secondarily, to validate boric acid to preserve the taxonomic and ARG (“resistome”) composition of sink trap samples for metagenomic sequencing. / Methods: Antibiotic residue dipsticks were validated against serial dilutions of ampicillin, doxycycline, sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin, and water chemistry dipsticks against serial dilutions of chemical calibration standards. Sink trap aspirates were used for a “real-world” pilot evaluation of dipsticks. To assess boric acid as a preservative of microbial diversity, the impact of incubation with and without boric acid at ∼22°C on metagenomic sequencing outputs was evaluated at Day 2 and Day 5 compared with baseline (Day 0). / Findings: The limits of detection for each antibiotic were: 3μg/L (ampicillin), 10μg/L (doxycycline), 20μg/L (sulfamethoxazole) and 8μg/L (ciprofloxacin). The best performing water chemistry dipstick correctly characterised 34/40 (85%) standards in a concentration-dependent manner. One trap sample tested positive for the presence of tetracyclines and sulfonamides. Taxonomic and resistome composition were largely maintained after storage with boric acid at ∼22°C for up to five days. / Conclusions: Dipsticks can be used to detect antibiotic residues and characterise water chemistry in sink trap samples. Boric acid was an effective preservative of trap sample composition, representing a low-cost alternative to cold-chain transport.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A workflow for the detection of antibiotic residues, measurement of water chemistry and preservation of hospital sink drain samples for metagenomic sequencing |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jhin.2023.11.021 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2023.11.021 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Healthcare Infection Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Hospital sinks, antibiotic residues, water chemistry, antimicrobial resistance |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185257 |
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