Prevalence and Resistance Profile of Acinetobacter baumannii Clinical Isolates from a Private Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract

Introduction: Acinetobacter baumannii is an important cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. It is difficult to control, and the infections caused by it are difficult to treat, because it is multidrug resistant. Objectives: This retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance pattern of A. baumannii at Royal Care International Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan over a 37 month period. Methodology: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed by the disk diffusion method as recommended by Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute CLSI [1]. Result: Non duplicate 275 A. baumannii were isolated out of a total 2899 pathogenic Gram negative isolates (9.5% prevalence). The most frequently isolated A. baumannii was from ICU patients (72%) followed by inpatients (24%) and outpatients (4%). The greatest number of isolates were recovered from sputum (61%) followed by wound (19%). The Resistance rates were higher than most of the internationally reported levels. Cephalosporins, aminoglycoside, aztreonam, fluoroquinolones and carbapenems are becoming practically ineffective, where the colistin elicited the highest susceptibility levels. Conclusion: This report shows for the first time (to our knowledge) the prevalence and resistance profile of A. baumannii in Sudan. The prevalence will help to conduct better infection control policy, and an update the local antibiogram will improve the knowledge of antimicrobial resistance patterns in our region.