Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of an Emerging Multidrug Resistant Nosocomial Pathogen: Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> (<i>A. baumannii</i>) 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 <i>Acinetobacter</i> 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 <i>Acinetobacter</i> 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 <i>A. baumannii</i> isolates was 80% for tigecycline and 53.3% for carbapenem. Combination therapies including colistin and tigecycline seem to be the rational treatment for MDR <i>A. baumannii</i> until new alternatives come forward.