Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate bacterial resistance trends, infection sites and the relationship between resistance and admittance to the intensive care unit (ICU). A total of 53,316 bacteria identified between 1999 and 2008 were evaluated. Multidrug resistance was characterized when gram-negative bacilli (GNB) presented resistance to two or more classes of antibiotics. Gram-positive cocci (CPC) were assessed for resistance to penicillin, oxacillin and vancomycin. GNB were the most common (66.1%) isolate. There was a 3.7-fold overall increase in multidrug resistant GNB over the study period; Acinetobacter baumanii and Staphylococcus aureus were the most prevalent. Highest increases were recorded for Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.6-fold) and enterococci (73-fold). The resistance rates for GNB and GPC were 36% and 51.7%, respectively. Most multidrug resistant GNB and GPC were recovered from ICU patients (p-value<0.001). Vancomycin-resistant enterococci were isolated during this decade with an increase of 18.7% by 2008. These data confirm the worldwide trend in multidrug bacterial resistance.