Authors : Dharnish Kumar Jha*, Basudha Khanal, Ratna Baral
DOI : 10.18231/j.ijmmtd.2023.015
Volume : 9
Issue : 2
Year : 2023
Page No : 77-80
Introduction: The emergence of resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents in pathogenic bacteria poses a significant public health threat because few or no effective antimicrobials are available for infectious diseases. Acinetobacter baumannii is a major cause of device-associated infections that pose a serious threat to critically ill patients. Resistance patterns are thought to result in very limited treatment options and high mortality. We examined the prevalence of Acinetobacter baumannii in endotracheal aspirates samples and explored their antibiotics susceptibility.
Objective: To determine the value of routine endotracheal aspirate cultures performed prior to the onset of the likely onset of ventilator-associated pneumonia (PVAP) in predicting pathogenic microorganisms and susceptibility to their antibiotics.
Materials and Methods: Patients admitted to the ventilatory intensive care unit were tested daily, and endotracheal aspirated (ET) specimens from suspected patients were sent to a microbiology laboratory for culture and sensitivity measurements.
Results: Of the 52 patients, only twenty five (48%) developed PVAP. Endotracheal aspirate cultures were positive in all PVAP cases. The most commonly isolated bacteria was Acinetobacter baumannii 14 (56%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 6 (24%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae 4 (16%). Almost all isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii are multidrug resistant (MDR). ICU stays greater than 16 days were observed for the pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.
Conclusion: We believe that multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is a widespread epidemic, leading to high mortality, long ICU stays, and a difficult case for ICU physicians. Further prospective studies are needed to tackle this threat.
Keywords: Intensive care unit, Multidrug resistant, Endotracheal aspirate, Possible Ventilator associated pneumonia