RESUMEN
To assess the prevalence of multi-drug resistant [MDR] bacteria causing infections in patients at the intensive care units [ICUs] of Riyadh Military Hospital [RMH], as well as their antimicrobial resistance patterns for one year. A retrospective, cohort investigation was performed. Laboratory records from January to December 2009 were studied for the prevalence of MDR Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and their antimicrobial resistance in ICU patients from RMH, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 1210 isolates were collected from various specimens such as: respiratory [469], blood [400], wound/tissue [235], urinary [56], nasal swabs [35], and cerebro-spinal fluid [15]. Regardless of the specimen, there was a high rate of nosocomial MDR organisms isolated from patients enrolled in the General ICU [GICU] in Riyadh. Acinetobacter baumannii [A. baumannii] comprised 40.9%, Klebsiella pneumonia [K.pneumonia] - 19.4%, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa [P. aeruginosa] formed 16.3% of these isolates. The P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus [methycillin sensitive and methycillin resistant], and Staphylococcus coagulase negative are the most common isolates recovered from clinical specimens in the GICU of RMH. Respiratory tract specimens represented nearly 39% of all the specimens collected in the ICU. The most common MDR organisms isolated in this unit were A. baumannii, and K. pneumoniae