Changing antimicrobial resistance observed at a tertiary care hospital in Delhi

Monitoring antimicrobial resistance patterns meticulously and discussing them in multi-speciality forums can guide the usage of and help in judiciously utilising antibiotic resources. This study was done to compare the antimicrobial resistance trends observed over a period of two years at a tertiary care super-speciality hospital in Delhi. Microbiological data was collected for the years 2008 and 2009 and comparisons were made in the number of different isolates received, their antibiograms and changes in their resistance trends. It was observed that resistance to majority of antibiotics increased or remained similar in the following year, exceptions being gentamicin in Pseudomonas which could be attributed to their restricted usage. It was also noticed that whereas resistance increased among non-fermenter gram negative bacilli, nalidixic acid resistant Salmonella, ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus, it decreased for methicillin resistant S. aureus. This was attributed to teaching programmes emphasizing hand hygiene. Regular monitoring of resistance trends guide us towards making antibiotic policies and helps to influence our practices.