Katya Vinokurof
Bayesian Network Mapping to Correlate Antibiotic Resistance
Mentor: Karen Eilbeck, MSC, PHD, FACMI
Department: Biomedical Informatics
Purpose
Approximately 26% of hospitalized pediatric patients are there due to sepsis.1 Of these, the mortality rate can be as high as 5%2 E.coli-related sepsis can be complicated to treat due to multiple drug resistance.2 Since sepsis requires prompt treatment for better clinical outcomes, knowing the connections between antibiotic resistance genes in septic pediatric patients and clinical features may provide a helpful guide to possible antibiotic resistance among differing population groups.3
Methods
299 pediatric sepsis blood samples were isolated. Antibiotic resistance gene ontology data was taken from the CARD database and mapped into the mechanism of antibiotic resistance and resistance by drug class. This antibiotic resistance mechanism by drug class was then put into a Bayesian Network with clinical outcomes. The Bayesian Network analysis excluded any ontological bins that had more than 95% prevalence in our sample isolates or less than 5% in our populations.
Results
Fourteen connections were found between antibiotic resistance and clinical features. Antibiotic resistance genes involved in the efflux of triclosans and phenols have a fourfold increase in the relative risk of pediatric meningitis. E.coli strains involved in antibiotic target inactivation of macrolides have a four-fold increased risk of occurring in pediatric patients with respiratory complex chronic conditions.
Conclusions
Bayesian Network analysis may further help us differentiate between various populations and their susceptibility to multiple types of antibiotic resistance. While 14 distinct connections were found in our Bayesian Network, our collaborators will perform validation assays to confirm any of the connections we found.
References:
de Souza, D. C., & Machado, F. R. (2019). Epidemiology of Pediatric Septic Shock. Journal of pediatric intensive care, 8(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1676634
Walker, M. M., Roberts, J. A., Rogers, B. A., Harris, P. N. A., & Sime, F. B. (2022). Current and Emerging Treatment Options for Multidrug Resistant Escherichia coli Urosepsis: A Review. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 11(12), 1821. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11121821
Kim, H. I., & Park, S. (2019). Sepsis: Early Recognition and Optimized Treatment. Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases, 82(1), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2018.0041