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M. Mahto, A. Shah, K. L. Show, F. L. Moses, A. G. Stewart
SUMMARY
OBJECTIVE: To determine antimicrobial resistance patterns and prevalence of multi- (MDR, i.e., resistant to ≥3 classes of antimicrobial agents) and extensively (XDR, i.e., resistant to ≥3, susceptible to ≤2 groups of antibiotics) drug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Nepal Mediciti Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal, using standard microbiological methods with Kirby Bauer disc diffusion to identify antimicrobial susceptibility.
RESULTS: P. aeruginosa (n = 447) were most frequently isolated in respiratory (n = 203, 45.4%) and urinary samples (n= 120, 26.8%). AWaRe Access antibiotics showed 25–30% resistance, Watch antibiotics 30–55%. Susceptibility to AWaRe Reserve antibiotics remains high; however, 32.8% were resistant to aztreonam. Overall, 190 (42.5%) were MDR and 99 (22.1%) XDR (first Nepali report) based on mainly non-respiratory samples. The majority of infected patients were >40 years (n = 229, 63.2%) or inpatients (n = 181, 50.0%); 36 (15.2%) had an unfavourable outcome, including death (n = 25, 10.5%). Our larger study showed a failure of improvement over eight previous studies covering 10 years.
CONCLUSION: Antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa occurred to all 19 AWaRe group antibiotics tested. Vulnerable patients are at significant risk from such resistant strains, with a high death rate. Sustainable and acceptable antibiotic surveillance and control are urgently needed across Nepal, as antimicrobial resistance has deteriorated over the last decade.