Abstract
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) bacterium, a nosocomial pathogen associated with a high mortality rate and limited therapeutic options have emerged as a serious problem throughout the world. The present study aimed to assess the current levels of antibiotic susceptibility among the isolates of Acinetobacter species. The sensitivity patterns were analysed from various clinical specimens obtained from both in-patients and outpatients of a teaching hospital. Isolation was performed on 5% sheep blood agar and MacConkey agar. Urine samples were inoculated into CLED agar. Antibiotic susceptibility was performed by the disc diffusion method. A total of 16,452 samples were collected. The total number of samples positive for Acinetobacter species was 67 (0.4%). The highest number of isolates 26 (38.8%) were obtained from urine. Majority 80.3% of the isolates exhibited resistance to three or more classes of antibiotics. All isolates were susceptible to colistin (100%). The susceptibility rate of A. baumannii isolates was 80% for tigecycline and 53.3% for carbapenem. Combination therapies including colistin and tigecycline seem to be the rational treatment for MDR A. baumannii until new alternatives come forward.
Highlights
Acinetobacter are aerobic, gram negative non-fermenting, non-fastidious, non-motile, catalase-positive, and oxidase negative coccobacilli that prefer a moist environment [1]
Acinetobacter is accredited as one of the six intricate pathogens “ESKAPE” (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) to emphasise that they escape the lethal action of antibiotics [2]
The isolates were predominantly recovered from urine samples (38.8%) followed by pus/ wound swab cultures (22.3%)
Summary
Acinetobacter are aerobic, gram negative non-fermenting, non-fastidious, non-motile, catalase-positive, and oxidase negative coccobacilli that prefer a moist environment [1]. The genus Acinetobacter has taken more and more imperative place as an opportunistic, difficult-to-treat pathogen causing nosocomial infections, though community acquired infections have been reported. Numerous studies have documented that Acinetobacter species have a noteworthy capacity for long-term survival (even in dry conditions) on various equipments like respirators and other inanimate surfaces in the hospital environment including telephone handles, door pushplates, patient charts, tabletops, hospital floor, hospital sink traps, bed linen, etc [3]. The most important species of this organism is Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) causing most of the reported outbreaks. During the course of time Acinetobacter species have acquired resistance to almost all available antimicrobial agents.
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