Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Bacteria Isolated from Pediatric Intensive Care Units

Elghanam, Mennatallah; Emara, Mohamed; Abdelhalim, Mona; Moustafa, Walaa

doi:10.21608/ejmm.2024.332173

Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Bacteria Isolated from Pediatric Intensive Care Units

Document Type : New and original researches in the field of Microbiology.

Authors

¹ Clinical Microbiology and Infection control Department, Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital, Egypt

² Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Egypt

10.21608/ejmm.2024.332173

Abstract

Background: The escalating prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms, coupled with limited discovery efforts of novel drugs, poses a critical challenge. Particularly pediatrics are at an elevated risk, making periodic updates on antibiotic resistance data essential. Objective: This study aimed to determine the current prevalence of MDR bacteria in different PICUs and analyze the distribution of MDR infections across different childhood stages at a specialized University hospital in Cairo. Furthermore, we aim to detect the carbapenemase encoding genes in the CRE strains with the goal of highlighting the increasing rates of MDR infections especially in pediatric health care centers and increase awareness towards antibiotics usage. Methodology: In this study, 455 clinical samples were obtained from patients who were admitted to various pediatric ICUs. Samples were identified and tested for susceptibility to different antibiotics. Additionally, Enterobacteriaceae samples which had shown a potential carbapenemase activity were tested using multiplex PCR assay. Results: Our Results revealed that out of 318 bacterial samples, 290 (91%) were found to be MDR strains, 84 (92%) out of 91 Gram-positive isolates were MDR while out of 227 Gram-negative isolates 206 (90%) were MDR. Noticeably, neonates and toddlers are the most vulnerable age groups to the MDR infections with the percentage of 96.87% (31/32) and 95.5% (43/45), respectively. Conclusion: The study highlights the extensive prevalence of MDR bacteria in PICUs, emphasizing the urgent need for robust infection control measures and antibiotic stewardship programs.

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