Aim: To assess the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy against five indicator bacteria in a Chinese hospital using an index-based approach.
Methods: The study population comprises 1031 patients who had one clinically significant bacterial isolate in 2008, 2010 and 2013. Drug resistance index (DRI) based on pathogens was calculated.
Results: The adaptive DRIs for Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus decreased, while both adaptive and fixed DRIs for Acinetobacter spp. increased from 2008 to 2013. The adaptive DRIs for Escherichia coli increased from 2008 to 2013, while the fixed DRIs exhibited a decreasing trend.
Conclusion: DRI could be used to demonstrate the changes of antimicrobial resistance and prescribing over time as a result of evolutionary processes and governmental regulatory interference.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; drug resistance index; inadequate antibiotic treatment; infection control; nosocomial infection.