Bacterial profile and their antimicrobial resistance pattern in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital of Dhaka

Critically ill patients admitted in intensive care units (ICU) are always at a higher risk of developing infections with various antibiotic resistant organisms. The objective of this study was to know the antibiotic resistance pattern of the common isolates from blood, urine, respiratory secretions and pus/wound swab of patients admitted in ICU at BIRDEM (Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorder) hospital, during a one year period from March 2006 to February 2007. A total of 1660 samples were analyzed. Growth was obtained in 34% of the samples yielding 632 organisms. The major organism isolated were Pseudomonas sp. (29.1%), Acinetobacter sp. (27.5%), Candida sp. (12.8%), Escherichia coli (10.3%) and Klebsiella sp. (9.7%). Staphylococcus aureus , Enterobacter sp , Citrobacter sp , Enterococcus sp , Providencia sp and Serratia sp accounted for 10.6% of the isolates. All the isolates were highly resistant (>80%) to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones. The frequency of third generation cephalosporin resistant E. coli , Klebsiella and imipenem resistant Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter were >50%. Acinetobacter was remarkably resistant to most antibiotics including imipenem (>70% resistant), but most of the members of the Enterobacteriacae group showed maximum sensitivity to imipenem (50%-94%). The findings of this study might help clinicians to formulate their first line empirical antibiotic treatment regimens for the patients admitted in ICUs. Key words: Intensive care units; antimicrobial resistance pattern; bacterial profile. DOI: 10.3329/imcj.v4i2.6499 Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2010; 4(2): 66-69