Background: Multidrug resistant strains of
Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) have emerged as alarming nosocomial pathogens among patients with burning. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the susceptibility of
A. baumannii species, carbapenems resistance patterns, and their association with IS
Aba1 and IS
Aba4 elements upstream of the
blaOXA-like genes, and the distribution of international clone (IC) of
A. baumannii isolates among patients with burning in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: In the current study, 62
A. baumannii species isolates from patients with burning in Tehran, Iran, in 2012 were evaluated for the antimicrobial susceptibility, genetic relationships, ICs, carbapenemase encoding genes, and insertion elements IS
Aba upstream of
blaOXA-like genes. Results: The highest rates of susceptibility were observed with colistin (88.7%) and tigecycline (82.2%). The extensively drug-resistance and pan drug-resistance were observed in 37.1% and 8.1% of the isolates, respectively. About 98.3% of 17 genotypes categorized into three distinct clusters. Thirty-six of the 62 isolates (58%) belonged to the IC II lineage. The most prevalent acquired OXA-type carbapenemase was
blaOXA-23-like (62.9%). IS
Aba1 and IS
Aba4 were detected upstream of
blaOXA-23-like genes in 45.1% and 12.9% of isolates, respectively. In 32.2% of all isolates, IS
Aba1 laid upstream of
blaOXA-51-like genes. The PCR results were negative for carbapenemase genes of Ambler class A and B, except
blaVIM-2. (1.6%). Conclusions: It was the first study that attempted to detect the insertion elements IS
Aba and IC lineages in MDR-AB species isolated from patients with burning in Iran. Keywords: Drug Resistance; beta-Lactamases; Molecular Epidemiology; Carbapenemase; IS elements;
Acinetobacter baumannii