en Clinical Medicine Clinical Medicine مقاله پژوهشی Original Research Article <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Background & Objective:</span></span><b> </b></b><i><span style="color:black">Escherichia coli (E. coli)</span></i><span style="color:black"> is among the most frequently encountered bacterial pathogens in hospital-acquired infections.‌The only treatment for <i>E. coli</i> the use of various antibiotics. In recent years, <i>E. coli</i> has demonstrated extensive drug resistance, which is partly to the presence of integrons in its genome.<b> </b>This study aimed to assess the antibiotic resistance profiles and determine the prevalence of class 1, 2, and 3 integrons in <i>E. coli</i> strains isolated from patients infected with the hospital in Zahedan.</span><br> <b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">&nbsp;Materials & Methods:</span></span></span></b> <span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">In this cross-sectional study,‌ 200 <i>E. coli</i></span></span><i> </i><i><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">separate</span></span></i><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt"> were collected and, then confirmation of the isolates was performed using biochemical tests and ultimately an antibiogram. The presence of class I, II, and III integron genes was then investigated using specific primers and PCR method.</span></span><br> <b><span lang="EN-IN"><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Results: </span></span></span>&nbsp;</b><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">Out of 200 <i>E. coli</i></span></span><i> </i><i><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">separate</span></span></i><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">,‌170 strains were MDR, with the highest resistance observed to cefazolin (74.5%), ‌cotrimoxazole (66.5%),‌ ceftriaxone (66.5%),‌and ampicillin (63.5%).‌ The Int1 and Int2 genes were identified in 40% and 12% of the strains,‌respectively; however, the Int3 gene was not found in the studied strains.</span></span><br> <b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Conclusion: </span></span>&nbsp;</b><span style="color:black">The findings of this study reveal a relatively high level of antibiotic resistance among the <i>E. coli</i> isolates, which may be partly attributed to the increased prevalence of integrons. Consequently, restricting the indiscriminate use of antibiotics could help reducing the spread of resistance genes.</span></span></span></p> Integron, Escherichia coli, Antibiotic Resistance 237 242 http://journal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-7220-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Bokaeian Bokaeian.m@gmail.com 5200319475328460087418 5200319475328460087418 No Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran Zakaria Bameri zakariabameri@gmail.com 5200319475328460087419 5200319475328460087419 No Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran Alireza Ansari-Moghaddam ansarialireza@yahoo.com 5200319475328460087420 5200319475328460087420 No Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran Amirhosein Vahid Vahidamirhosein8@gmail.com 5200319475328460087421 0009-0004-7755-5239 Yes Student Research Committee, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran