en Life Science Life Science 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><span style="color:black">Antibiotic resistance, particularly in bacteria producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), is a major challenge in managing bacterial infections. Here we investigated the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and its patterns in <i>Escherichia coli</i> strains isolated from pregnant women attending Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran.</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">This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 vaginal samples collected from pregnant women. The samples were examined for identifying <i>Escherichia coli</i> and antibiotic resistance using microbiological tests and the E-TEST method. Additionally, the prevalence of the CTX-M, SHV, and TEM genes in ESBL-producing strains was determined using PCR.</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 100 samples, 45 (45%) were identified as Gram-negative, and 27 (27%) were confirmed to be <i>Escherichia coli</i>. Among the 27 <i>E. coli</i> strains, 9 (33.33%) were identified as ESBL producers. E-TEST results for the ESBL-producing strains revealed cefotaxime resistance ranging from 1 to 2 mg/mL and ceftazidime resistance ranging from 0.25 to 4 mg/mL. One strain showed resistance to very high concentrations (up to 256 mg/mL). The prevalence of the CTX-M and TEM genes in the ESBL-producing strains was 22.22% and 88.88%, respectively, while the SHV gene was not detected in any strain. Two strains carried both the CTX-M and TEM genes simultaneously. The overall prevalence of CTX-M and TEM genes in all isolated <i>E. coli</i> strains was 7.4% and 29.62%, respectively.</span></span><br> <b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Conclusion: </span></span>&nbsp;</b><span style="color:black">These findings highlight the necessity for efficient approaches to manage antibiotic resistance.</span></span></span></p>  Escherichia coli, ESBL, Antibiotic Resistance, CTX-M Genes, SHV Genes, TEM Genes, Tabriz Al-Zahra Hospital 31 40 http://journal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-7217-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Saeed Mansouri mnswrysyd050@gmail.com 5200319475328460088272 5200319475328460088272 No Department of Biology, Sa. C., Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran Kambiz Davari k.davari@iausdj.ac.ir 5200319475328460088273 5200319475328460088273 Yes Department of Biology, Sa. C., Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran Seyedeh Bahareh Mirani s.bahare.mirani@gmail.com 5200319475328460088274 5200319475328460088274 No Department of Biology, Sa. C., Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran