Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Hospital-Acquired Infections in Tertiary Care Centers

Abstract

HAIs are among the major global health problems, in terms of morbidity, mortality, and health care spending. The growing incidences of the multi-drug-resistant (MDR) organisms also make it difficult to manage and control infections among patients. The study aimed to determine the occurrence rates of HAIs, microbial profile and resistance to antimicrobials of HAIs in tertiary care units. It was cross-sectional observational study that was conducted in three tertiary hospitals. The clinical samples included inpatients who contracted an infection not less than 48 hours after admission: urine, sputum, pus, and blood. The bacterial isolates were identified by conventional microbiological techniques and antibiotic susceptibility with the assistance of the KirbyBauer disk diffusion technique as per the CLSI guidelines of 2024. Among inpatients (n=1000) surveyed, 286 (28.6) of them later suffered HAIs. The most common sites of infection were urinary tract (35%), surgical wounds (25) and respiratory tract (22). The gram negative bacteria (72 percent) were the most predominant, with Klebsiella pneumoniae (24 percent), Escherichia coli (18 percent), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16 percent) being the other common bacteria species. It was found that all the resistance rates were high against the cephalosporins (6578%), fluoroquinolones (60%), and colistin and carbapenems were still sensitive (>80%). The high rates and alarming rates of HAIs indicate the urgent need to possess antibiotic stewardship, strengthened infection control measures and surveillance programs to assist in the reduction of the spread of the resistant pathogens.