Prevalence of Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens Causing Bloodstream Infections in an Intensive Care Unit.

Introduction: Bloodstream infections are the most severe infections that cause the highest mortality rate, especially in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). In this study, we aimed to analyze the distribution, resistance patterns and prevalence of MDR (multidrug-resistant) pathogens isolated in blood samples collected from patients with severe invasive infections hospitalized in the ICU.

Methods: A retrospective study of bacterial pathogens was performed on 490 patients admitted to the ICU between 2017 and 2020. The resistance patterns were analyzed using Vitek 2 Compact system.

Results: In total, 617 bacterial isolates were obtained. Four hundred and twenty-seven isolates (69.21%) were Gram positive and 190 isolates (30.79%) were Gram negative bacteria. The most frequently isolated micro-organisms identified in the blood samples for the entire period (2017-2020) were (318-51.54%), followed by (70-11.34%), (58-9.40%), (45-7.29%) and (42-6.80%). The number of strains significantly increased in 2020, compared to the previous year (p < 0.05). The prevalence was significantly higher in the age group of 20-64 years (10.89%) and over 65 years (3.53%) (p < 0.001). The difference between the prevalence of in the elderly (67.84%) and in adults (20-64 years) (52.47%) was also statistically significant (p < 0.001). High rates of MDR were found for (97.77%), (65%), (50%), (47.61%) and (46.55%). More than 60% of the strains were found to be resistant to carbapenems.

Conclusion: The study revealed an alarming prevalence of MDR strains isolated in blood samples of the patients admitted to the ICU, indicating the necessity of consistent application of the measures to control.