Incidence of Multidrug-Resistant, Extensively Drug-Resistant, and Pandrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Isolated from Clinical Specimens

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections: Analysis of trends in prevalence and... Aims: Recently, overuse and misuse of antibiotics have led to the development of multidrugresistant bacteria and infectious diseases caused by these organisms, increasing morbidity and mortality rate in patients.Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a common Gram-negative pathogen is predominantly responsible for hospital-acquired infections.In this study, the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and pandrug-resistant (PDR) P. aeruginosa strains isolated from clinical specimens of patients admitted to a teaching hospital in Gorgan, Iran, was determined.Materials & Methods: Clinical samples of blood, urine, burn wound, eye, and secretions (pleural fluid, tracheal or bronchial aspirates and sputum) were collected from all hospitalized patients during a three-month period from April to June 2019.Using conventional biochemical methods, P. aeruginosa strains were identified, and the antibiotic resistance pattern was determined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.Findings: A total of 40 (25.4%)P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from 377 clinical specimens.Most of the P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from wound (35%) and urine (30%) samples.Most of the P. aeruginosa positive samples were recovered from intensive care unit (32.5%) and burn ward (30%).The highest susceptibility was shown to fosfomycin (100%), and the lowest susceptibility was observed to ceftazidime (87.5%), followed by aztreonam (60%).Based on the results, 52.5 and 20% of the isolates were MDR and XDR, respectively.All of the MDR isolates exhibited susceptibility to colistin.No PDR phenotype was observed.Conclusion: Continuous monitoring of drug resistant strains among clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa must be done to adopt effective strategies to decrease the threat of antimicrobial resistance.