Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from a Burn Wound Infection: Phenotypic Characterization and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an extremely dangerous opportunistic pathogen that causes severe wound infections especially in medical practice because of its large repertoire of virulence factors and its high ability to resist antimicrobial agents. This research proposed to 5 isolates from 25 samples was collected, identify, and characterize the antimicrobial resistance profile of a P. aeruginosa isolates obtained after a burn wound sample. Preliminary identification was done by standard microbiological procedures such as culture on selective media (cetrimide agar), Gram staining, and oxidase test. The definitive identification was done using the VITEK 2 compact system, which uses both automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and definitive identification using the manual Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion system. The isolate exhibited (XDR) Aand multidrug- resistant (MDR) phenotype, demonstrating resistance to a broad range of antibiotic classes: aminoglycosides (amikacin, gentamicin), cephalosporins (ceftazidime), fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, norfloxacin), and the last-resort agent colistin. It was only vulnerable to levofloxacin and imipenem. The clash of resistance to first-line and last-resort antibiotics, particularly in a patient group at high risk such as the critically ill burn patients, brings out a critical therapeutic challenge. The implications of these findings are the alarming presence of MDR P. aeruginosa in clinical settings and the invaluable role of routine AST in informing effective therapy. The paper results in the conclusion that there is an urgent need to ensure the strictness of antimicrobial stewardship, the effectiveness of infection control practices, and ongoing surveillance to reduce the transmission of these high-risk pathogens. Future studies are necessary to characterize the mechanisms of resistance on a molecular level, in order to make targeted interventions and management of outbreaks.