A 5-year surveillance on antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter isolates at a level-I trauma centre of India

INTRODUCTION: Acinetobacter spp. has emerged as a major cause of nosocomial outbreaks. Multiple antibiotic resistance is an important problem in Acinetobacter isolates in recent years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of antimicrobial resistance and changes in resistance pattern over a period of 5 years (2012–2016) in Acinetobacter spp. isolated from trauma patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Acinetobacter spp. was identified by VITEK 2 and antibiotic susceptibility of isolates was investigated by disc-diffusion method and VITEK 2 automated system. Interpretation of susceptibility results was based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. RESULTS: Out of the total 16,210 isolates obtained throughout the period of 5 years, Acinetobacter spp. accounted for 3744 (28.9%). Out of which, the species which was maximally isolated was Acinetobacter baumannii (98.5%), followed by Acinetobacter lwoffii (1.4%) and Acinetobacter hemolyticus (0.1%). The highest number of clinical isolates of Acinetobacter were recovered from neurosurgical ward (n = 1210), followed by the neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1000) and surgical ICU (n = 948) and the most common sample of Acinetobacter isolation was from tracheal aspirate (37.1%), followed by wound swab (18.8%). The highest level of resistance was observed against ciprofloxacin (96%), followed by cefepime (95%), ceftazidime (95%), piperacillin (95%), and amikacin (92%). The trend of antibiotic resistance was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001) for most of the antibiotics being tested such as amikacin and carbapenems. CONCLUSION: The high rate of antibiotic resistance of the Acinetobacter strains indicated that there is an urgent need for controlled antibiotic usage and appliance of hospital infection control measures