Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii in clinical samples from intensive care unit patients in a tertiary care hospital at Peshawar [Pakistan]

ABSTRACT

Multi-drug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii [A baumannii] can cause a wide range of infections, including bacteremia, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, peritonitis etc., which can lead to substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly in the ICU settings. These organisms have been shown to be increasingly resistant to a large group of antibiotics, especially [3-lactam antibiotics. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] and A baumannii in patients admitted in Intensive Care Units [ICUs] of a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 518 bacterial isolates were collected from different ICUs during die period from 1st November 2012 to 30 November 2013. Media, reagents and kits used for bacterial culture and analysis included blood agar, MacConkey's agar, mannitol salt agar, DNAase and Api Biomerieux 10s [France]. Antibiotic cefoxitin was used to check whether strains of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin resistant or sensitive. The antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by Mueller Hinton agar [MHA] by disc diffusion method. Out of a total of 518 cultures obtained, 42[8.1%] were MRSA positive and 33[6.37%] were positive for A baumannii. Vancomycin [40[95.23%]] and minocycline [33[78.57%]] were the most effective drugs against MRSA, while colistin [33 [100%]] and minocycline [20 [60.6%]] were the most effective against A baumannii. There is an increased frequency of multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii [A baumannii] among patients in the ICU setting which calls for continuous surveillance to determine prevalence and effective antibiotic susceptibility of these bacteria