Objectives:

To investigate antimicrobial resistance of Gram-negative rods causing bloodstream infections (BSI) in the ICU of a university hospital in Turkey.

Methods:

The study included 27 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 44 Acinetobacter spp, 16 Klebsiella pneumoniae, and 12 Escherichia coli isolated from the blood samples of patients having bloodstream infections in the period of 2000–2003. The antibiotic susceptibilities and extended-spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL) production were determined by Etest (AB BIODISC) using Mueller–Hinton agar (OXOID) according to NCCLS recommendations.

Results:

The antibiotic resistances and rates of ESBL production of the strains are presented in the table.

Conclusions:

Among the microorganisms causing BSI multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter spp was the leading pathogen. Regarding all the strains, carbapenems and cefepime are identified as the most effective antimicrobial agents.

Table.  The antibiotic resistance percentage of the micro organisms