Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) – Version 3.5
CRKP stands for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, which simply means that the bacterium — which is a “gram negative” type bacteria that is related to common organisms found in the gastrointestinal tract like E. coli— is resistant to carbapenems, a type of antibiotic that until recently was the “antibiotic of last resort.” Sometimes it still is, but not always. Previously, carbapenems would work against bacteria like Klebsiella pneumoniae that were resistant to every other type of antibiotic. Dr. Robert Moellering