Prevalence and Pattern of Antimicrobial Resistance in ICU Patients with Sepsis in Dhaka City: A Single Center Study

Background: Pathogenic resistance against antibiotics is substantially mounting in the developing countries including Bangladesh. Antimicrobial resistance is a rising concern specially among the critically ill patients who are often treated by multiple antibiotics. Objective: To observe the pattern of antimicrobial resistance among the patients diagnosed with sepsis admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU). Method: This observational study took place in the ICU of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for 1 year. Samples of blood, urine, tracheal aspirate were obtained from 192 patients admitted in ICU with clinically diagnosed sepsis which were cultured and analyzed. Result: Mean age of the patients were 54.29 ± 19.443 years and 60.4% were males. The most common sample yielding positive culture was tracheal aspirate [94 (51.6%)]. Out of 530 samples, organisms were isolated from 158 samples. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Klebsiella spp. 54 (35.29%), followed by Acinetobacter spp. 38 (24.83%), Pseudomonas spp. 19 (12.42%) and Candida spp. 15 (9.80%). Regarding antimicrobials, a range of drugs classified as Penicillins, Cephalosporins, Carbapenems, Fluroquinolones, Macrolides and others such as Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole and Nitrofurantoin were found to be 100.0% resistant to Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp., Acinetobacter spp. and E. coli. Conclusion: A high prevalence of resistance to most antibiotics was detected. Overall, such a revelation of increased antibiotic resistance demands for restrictive and appropriate antibiotic usage in accordance with the updated antibiotic prescribing policy in Bangladesh.