Frequency and antibiogram of Acinetobacter species isolated from various clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Acinetobacter species have emerged as opportunistic pathogens and can cause a wide range of healthcare associated infections like ventilator associated pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia, urinary tract infections, peritonitis, etc. Acinetobacter spp, most often multi-drug resistant , are difficult to treat pathogens and can lead to treatment failure. Methods: Our study was conducted to determine the frequency and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Acinetobacter species from various clinical samples. The isolates were identified by standard protocols and further tested for antimicrobial resistance by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method as per CLSI guidelines. Results: From 261 Acinetobacter isolates, maximum (39.5%) were obtained from pus/swab, followed by blood (31%), urine (19.9%) and other samples (9.6%). Acinetobacter species were resistant to ciprofloxacin (73.4%), amikacin (57.9%), gentamicin (70.4%), ceftazidime (82.9%), cefoperazone (82.4%), ampicillin/sulbactum (58%). The low resistant pattern of sulbactam-ceftazidime (18.4%), piperacillin/tazobactam (15.1%), imipenem (23.6%), indicate that they are effective drugs. All the isolates were found to be sensitive to colistin. Conclusion: Multi drug resistant isolates are increasing day by day, due to indiscriminate use of these antibiotics in healthcare settings. Reducing and restricting the use of antimicrobials to only those situations where they are warranted, at proper dose and for the proper duration is the most appropriate solution. This hospital-based epidemiological data will help to implement better infection control strategies and improve the knowledge of resistance pattern in our region.