Detection of Carbapenem Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Clinical Isolates from a Tertiary Care Hospital

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria are a major public health threat. However, intense efforts to limit their spread, the number of multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria continues to increase globally. Carbapenems, the most broad-spectrum beta lactam antibiotics active against Gram-negative organisms, are very slowly hydrolyzed by most beta-lactamases. Because of their broad-spectrum activity, carbapenems have served as the last line of defense against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms since their introduction in the early 1980s [1].