Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) cause significant morbidity and mortality, complicated by rising antimicrobial resistance and fungal co-infections. This prospective study at a tertiary care centre in Chennai analyzed 200 LRTI specimens for aerobic bacterial and fungal pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibility. Klebsiella pneumoniae (57.5%) was the predominant bacterium, followed by Acinetobacter baumannii (19.8%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17.9%). Carbapenem resistance occurred in 34% of Gram-negative isolates, with Acinetobacter showing the highest rates. Colistin resistance was found in 2.5% of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella. Carbapenemase production was confirmed in 60% and metallo-β-lactamase in 40% of Klebsiella tested. Fungal growth was detected in 15.5% of samples, mainly Aspergillus fumigatus among filamentous fungi. Eight cases had bacterial-fungal co-infections. The study underscores the urgent need for antimicrobial stewardship and accurate microbial diagnosis to improve LRTI management and control multidrug resistance.
Euphrasia et al. (Tue,) studied this question.