Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Aerobic Bacterial Pathogen Isolated from Endotracheal Aspirate

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the major hospital-acquired infections and the emergence of bacterial resistance is common among patients in the intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of the study is to identify the common bacterial pathogen isolated from an endotracheal (ET) aspirate and its antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Materials and methods: A prospective analytical study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital for a period of 1 year. All ET aspirate sample sent to the microbiology laboratory was processed and identified by standard biochemical tests and antibiotic sensitivity was by disk diffusion method as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Results: Of the total 217 samples studied, 85 (39.17.1%) were culture sterile and 132 (60.82%) showed culture positive. Among 132 isolates, the predominant organism was Acinetobacter baumannii (36.36%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (24.24%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.45%). We have reported a higher percentage of resistance among the isolated gram-negative bacilli to carbapenems, aminoglycosides, and third-generation cephalosporins, with increased sensitivity to piperacillin-tazobactam and cefoperazone-sulbactam. Conclusion: In our study, A. baumannii was the predominantly isolated gram-negative bacilli followed by K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. One of the rising concerns to hospital-acquired respiratory pathogens is the surge of multidrug resistance patterns. Hence, strict adherence to antibiotic policy and appropriate use according to the guidelines will save the use of drugs in the future in life-threatening conditions.

Ameliorative potential of gallic acid on the activation of ROS and down-regulation of antioxidant enzymes in cardiac tissue of rats infused with advanced glycation end products.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications including cardiac dysfunction and heart failure. We aimed to investigate the effects of circulatory AGEs on the oxidative stress parameters in the rat hearts, and also to examine the protective role of gallic acid (GA) in attenuating the AGEs-induced oxidative stress. The experimental Wistar rats were infused with in vitro synthesized rat serum albuminderived AGEs intravenously at a dose of 50mg/kg/day, for 30 days with or without GA. The control animals received equal amount of unmodified rat serum albumin (RSA) intravenously for 30 days. The rats treated with AGEs alone exhibited increased plasma levels of creatine kinase (CK) (p<0.01), and lactate dehydrogenese (LDH) (p<0.001), when compared with controls. In parallel, a significant increase in the levels of the oxidative stress makers lipid peroxides (LPO) (p<0.001), and protein carbonyls (PCO) (p<0.01) were found in AGEs-RSA infused rat hearts compared with control rat hearts. The antioxidant enzymes analysis revealed a significant decrease (p<0.01, respectively) in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in AGEs-RSA infused rat hearts compared with control rat hearts. Gallic acid co-treatments (administered oral gavage daily at a dose of 25 mg/kg) normalized the decreased levels of antioxidant enzymes in the cardiac tissue on AGEs infusion. The results of the present study provide in vivo evidence that the circulating AGEs induce oxidative stress in the heart, and GA attenuates AGEs-mediated cardiotoxicity.