Acinetobacter baumannii infections in a tertiary care hospital in Mexico over the past 13 years

Abstract

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii has evolved from an opportunistic pathogen into a common and persistent nosocomial bacterium capable of causing severe infections during endemic and epidemic periods.

Methods: The study period extended from January 1999 to December 2011 and involved patients hospitalized at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, Jalisco, Mexico. From each patient, a single isolate was obtained, and a total of 3,680 unique isolates were collected. Susceptibility tests were performed according to the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.

Results: A. baumannii has disseminated throughout the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, since 1999. A. baumannii isolates obtained from patients treated in the adult intensive care unit represent the majority of the isolates that have been collected. In addition, A. baumannii was isolated from the adult neurosurgical ward and the adult internal medicine ward, and these isolates were frequently obtained from secretions. A persistent decrease in the susceptibility of A. baumannii isolates to meropenem (92% in 1999 to 12% in 2011), imipenem and amikacin has been observed.

Conclusions: A. baumannii became an endemic nosocomial pathogen during the study period at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, and has exhibited a persistent decrease in susceptibility to all categories of antimicrobial agents over the past 13 years.