Pattern of cephalosporin and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a retrospective analysis
Salma AlBahrani, Thikrayat Qazih Alqazih, Ali Ahmad Aseeri, Reem Al Argan, Dania Alkhafaji, Nora Abdullah Alrqyai, Sami Alanazi, Dima Saleh Aldakheel, Qassim Hassan Ghazwani, Salah Saeed Jalalah, Anwar Khalid Alshuaibi, Hanadi Ali Hazzazi, Jaffar A. Al‐Tawfiq
Abstract
Despite its financial cost on the world's health care system, Pseudomonas aeruginosa antibiotic resistance has been increasing. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the level of antimicrobial resistance to anti-pseudomonas medicines, specifically B-lactam medications like cephalosporin and carbapenems, as well as the prevalence of multi-drug resistance to P aeruginosa, particularly during these years of the COVID-19 pandemic. This retrospective analysis covered the period from January 2019 to December 2022 and included cephalosporin and carbapenem resistant P. aeruginosa isolates and real-time PCR Genexpert test (CARBA-R kit) was used for the detection of genes responsible for carbapenemase resistance. During the course of the study, 1815 clinical isolates were identified and 160 (9%) were resistant to carbapenems and cephalosporins. The resistance rates were 32.5% (13/597) in 2019, 11.2% (44/393) in 2020, 7% (26/369) in 2021, and 11% (50/456) in 2022. Of those isolates, MDR rates were 6.7%, 86.3%, 57.7%, and 56%, per year over the study period. Using Genexpert test, 88 (93.6%) of MDR P. aeruginosa were negative for carbapenemase genes. This study emphasizes the alarming patterns of carbapenem and cephalosporin resistance among P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. A considerable fraction of isolates showed resistance to these crucial antibiotics, as evidenced by the 9% overall resistance rate.