High prevalence of carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii associated respiratory tract infections in Pakistani hospitals

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most common causes of nosocomial infections in developing countries. It has a better ability to get antimicrobial resistance due to plasticity in genome. The recent emergence of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolates in several countries narrows down the spectrum of options to treat A. baumannii infections. The WHO has placed carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii on the top of priority organisms against which novel antibiotics are required. A systematic evaluation of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii infections in three tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan is presented here. A total of 2270 positive culture samples were collected over a period of two years. Of which 1642 (72.33%) were respiratory tract specimens. A. baumannii was identified in 681 (41 %) cases. Of which 583 (85.5%) were carbapenem-resistant. Our findings suggest that the burden of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii infections is alarmingly high in Pakistan.