Piperacillin/Tazobactam Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas and Klebsiella Species at a University Hospital in North Cyprus: A Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND/AIMS Antibiotic resistance has become a significant problem for healthcare systems, with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella species being of particular concern due to their high resistance rates. These resistant strains are making healthcare-associated infections increasingly difficult to treat, leading to a pressing public health crisis. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the incidence of piperacillin/tazobactam (PTZ) resistance in clinical isolates of the Pseudomonas and Klebsiella species.MATERIALS AND METHODS Patient demographics and antimicrobial susceptibility outcomes were examined from the medical records at a university hospital in North Cyprus, between January, 2016 and March, 2022 in order to determine the extent of resistance to PTZ in these strains. A total of 812 Pseudomonas and 865 Klebsiella isolates from various hospital departments were assessed for PTZ resistance using the Vitek 2-Compact System (BioMérieux) and SPSS.RESULTS According to our findings, the resistance rates for PTZ were 22.9% and 26.6% for the Pseudomonas and Klebsiella species, respectively. Interestingly, the demographic distributions of resistance rates displayed a difference between genders and age groups. The elderly group had the highest resistance rates. Female patients exhibited lower resistance rates than male patients. In terms of hospital departments, the intensive care unit had the highest resistance rates (37.3% and 42.6% for Pseudomonas and Klebsiella isolates, respectively), followed by cardiology (27.9% and 33.3%) and chest disease and allergy (27.6% and 30.8%).CONCLUSION Given the high rates of PTZ resistance observed in this study, it is imperative to manage PTZ with caution and implement comprehensive infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities in order to address this public health concern.