ABSTRACT

Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram negative, antimicrobial-resistant bacilli difficult to control and treat. This pathogen has became more important in the last decades due to multidrug-resistant nasocomial infections. The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistance rates of A.baumannii isolated from various clinical specimens of intensive care unit (ICU) patients between November 2010 and December 2011.

A total of 172 A.baumannii strains were isolated. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed by VITEC 2 (bioMerieux, France) system.

A. baumannii strains were isolated 44% from tracheal aspirate, 25% from wounds, 24% from blood, and 7% from urine, consecutively. Although there were no resistant strains detected to colistin and tygecycline, resistance rates of the other antibiotics were found to be 64% for amicacin, 67% for gentamicin, %73 for levofloxacin, 76% for ciprofloxacin, %79 for cefoperazone/sulbactam, 84% for piperacillin/tazobactam, and 92% for imipenem and meropenem, consecutively.

In conclusion, no resistant strains were detected to colistin and tygecycline and they were found to be the preferred empirical treatment for A. baumannii infections.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii, antibiotic resistance, intensive care unit