Acinetobacter infections: A growing threat in the hospital

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram Negative coccobacilli implicated in causation of wide spectrum of nosocomial infections. Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter (MDR Acinetobacter) is emerging as an important cause of hospital acquired infections like urinary tract infection, ventilator associated pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and infection in burns patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of Acinetobacter infections and ascertain the burden of MDR Acinetobacter in this hospital. This study is a retrospective review of Microbiology laboratory culture reports during the period 01 Jan 2012 to 31 Dec 2012 at INHS Asvini and includes 172 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii. Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter was defined as resistance to more than three classes of antibiotics. Out of a total of3283 different isolates from various clinical samples during this period, 172 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii were obtained. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns for all available antibiotic classes for Acinetobacter were studied. Of all the Acinetobacter baumannii isolated, 38% were found to be Multidrug resistant which were resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics including Aminoglycosides, Cephalosporins, Carbepenems, Extended Spectrum Penicillins and Fluroquinolones. The data suggests that Acinetobacter infections are a growing threat affecting a considerable proportion of critically ill patients