Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42310482›Full record

ArticleMicrobiologyOpen2026

Interplay Between Virulence Genes, Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, and Biofilm Formation in Klebsiella pneumoniae Causing Urinary Tract Infections in North Lebanon.

Mazen Zaylaa, Rayan Farha, Jana Taleb, Amal Saad, Omar El Gharbawy, Ricardo Sarraf, Ibtihal Kassam, Chadi Hamdach, Nisrine Bissar

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Article in MicrobiologyOpen, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Mazen ZaylaaFaculty of Medicine, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.ORCID 0000-0003-0051-790X
Rayan FarhaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Jana TalebDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Amal SaadFaculty of Medicine, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Omar El GharbawyFaculty of Medicine, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Ricardo SarrafDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Monla Hospital, Tripoli, Lebanon.
Ibtihal KassamDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Dar Al Shifa Hospital, Tripoli, Lebanon.
Chadi HamdachDepartment of Microbiology, Kadisha Medical Laboratories, Tripoli, Lebanon.
Nisrine BissarDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is a major cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and poses a growing public health concern due to multidrug resistance and virulence potential. This study aimed to characterize antimicrobial resistance, biofilm formation, and virulence gene distribution among urinary K. pneumoniae isolates from North Lebanon and to explore correlations between these factors. A total of 153 non-duplicate isolates from hospital and community settings were analyzed for antibiotic susceptibility, hypermucoviscosity, biofilm formation, and presence of key virulence (fimH, mrkD, magA, rmpA, entB, iucA, iroN, kfu) and β-lactamase (blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M) genes. Adhesion-associated genes fimH and mrkD were highly prevalent, particularly in hospital-acquired and strong biofilm-producing isolates. Capsular and regulatory genes (magA) was more frequent in putative hypervirulent and community-acquired strains, while siderophore genes entB and iucA were strongly associated with biofilm formation and hospital-acquired infections. A significantly higher resistance to cephalosporins, along with an increased frequency of multidrug-resistant phenotypes, was detected in hospital-acquired, classical, and strong biofilm-forming isolates. ESBL production was significantly more common in hospital-acquired and biofilm-forming isolates. Strong biofilm formation was largely associated with classical K. pneumoniae and hospital-acquired infections, whereas putative hypervirulent strains were primarily weak biofilm producers and community-acquired. These findings highlight the interplay between virulence determinants, biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance, emphasizing the need for targeted infection control and treatment strategies in North Lebanon.

Indexed as

BiofilmsDrug Resistance, BacterialKlebsiella InfectionsKlebsiella pneumoniaeUrinary Tract InfectionsVirulence FactorsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial Proteinsbeta-LactamasesCommunity-Acquired InfectionsCross InfectionDrug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialHumansLebanonMicrobial Sensitivity TestsVirulenceAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial Proteinsbeta-LactamasesVirulence Factorsantimicrobial resistancebiofilm formationKlebsiella pneumoniaeputative hypervirulent strainurinary tract infectionvirulence genes

Identifiers

PMID42310482
PMCPMC13275327

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.