Trends in Antimicrobial Resistance in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Assam, India

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens has emerged as a challenge in health care settings resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to describe the trends and burden of AMR in a tertiary care hospital. A retrospective observational study was undertaken from October 2018 to March 2021 in a clinical microbiology laboratory where local priority pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance patterns were analyzed. Organism identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Out of 9948 isolates, Enterobacteriaceae (58%) were mostly isolated followed by Staphylococci (18.6%), Non-fermenting gram negative bacilli (NFGNB) (13.7%), and Enterococci (8.4%) respectively. Highest isolation was from inpatient department (61.3%); 31.5% from outpatient, and 7.2 % from intensive care units. Klebsiella pneumoniae (26.9%) was most isolated organism, mostly from respiratory samples; Escherichia coli was isolated mostly from urine (40.7%). Almost half of the Enterobacteriaceae isolates were extended spectrum beta-lactamase producers while >50% of Enterobacteriaceae and NFGNB isolates were resistant to one or more Carbapenems. Frequency of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus was 44.7%, Vancomycin resistant Enterococci was 1.2%. A rising trend of resistance to cephalosporins and carbapenems along with fluoroquinolones was observed. Our study has witnessed a high prevalence of Gram negative pathogens with increasing resistance to commonly applied antimicrobials during the surveillance period which can act as a guiding tool in devising local antimicrobial priorities, antibiotic policy, and proper antimicrobial prescribing practices.