Antibiotic Resistant Bacterial Pathogens Associated with Blood Stream Infections and Urinary Tract Infections among Intensive Care Unit Patients

Abstract

Blood Stream Infection (BSI) and Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) being leading causes of morbidity and mortality represent a common complication among critically ill patients. During the last decade, clinicians have observed a rising occurrence of BSIs due to bacterial resistance. Likewise, catheter-associated UTI is a main cause of morbidity and mortality affecting all age groups. Coliforms happen to be the prominent pathogens among our ICU admitted patients. It was alarming to notice 42.9% resistance to tigecycline among K. pneumoniae isolated from blood. K. pneumoniae isolates cultured from urine of ICU patients uniformly displayed 75% resistance to ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, cefoxitin and cefepime. Interestingly, it is of respite to observe 85.7% K. pneumoniae isolated from blood and 75% K. pneumoniae isolated from urine being susceptible to a conventional antibiotic, gentamicin. Escherichia coli isolated from urine were 100% susceptible to carbapenems and 91.75% were susceptible to tigecycline. Overall, 90% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were susceptible to nitrofurantoin. The rapid spread of these MDR pathogens demands for national and regional guidelines. Policies to treat ICU related infections in UAE should be designed based on local microbiological data and resistance profiles of pathogens.

Keywords

• antimicrobial resistance
• pathogens
• blood stream infections
• urinary tract infections
• intensive care unit patients