Investigating the ability of bacteria isolated from various artificial respiratory systems to resist antibiotics and biofilms formation

Abstract

Respiratory infections associated with ventilators represent a significant risk to individuals in intensive care units, particularly children under 3 years of age. 100 sample were collected Between October 2021 and February 2022, from Mosul hospitals (Ibn Al-Atheer Teaching Hospital, Ibn Sina Teaching Hospital, Al-Salam Hospital, and Al-Khansa Teaching Hospital) at ages 1 day to 3 years. A swab was taken from the water chamber of the artificial breathing devices, and the catheter head was collected, where the mucous material was cultured in three different mediums (blood agar, MacConkey agar, and Chocolate agar). 80 bacterial isolates were collected. The highest percentage was determined to be connected to Gr- bacteria, with 65 isolates 81.25%, and 15 isolates 18.75% being Gr+ bacteria. Using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, it was discovered that all isolates had great resistance to the antagonist’s ampicillin and ceftriaxone, but high sensitivity to both Imipenem and Meropenem. The tube method was found to be more efficient than the Congo red agar method in the detection of biofilms. Klebsiella pneumoniae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Burkholderia cepacia group, and Pseudomonas mendocina were biofilm-forming in both ways by up to 100%. The current investigation found that the tube approach produced 100% biofilm, but the Congo red agar method produced 41.25% biofilm.