Antimicrobial resistance of bacterial isolates from respiratory care wards in Taiwan: a horizontal surveillance study.

A horizontal surveillance study was conducted to identify common bacteria and mycobacteria from 611 respiratory aspirates and 165 urinary samples from 611 patients hospitalised at 17 respiratory care wards (RCWs) in Taiwan. Some major resistance phenotypes, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis, and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR-PA) and Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB), were identified. Pulsotypes of ESBL-producing P.