Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the community level: An urban and rural case study from Karnataka

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health crisis in India and globally. While national guidelines exist, the sources of data which form the basis of these guidelines are limited to a few well-established tertiary care centres. There is inadequate literature on AMR and antibiotic mismatch from India at community level and even less literature on AMR patterns from rural India.

The aims of this study were as follows: 1) to describe the patterns of AMR at an urban tertiary care hospital and a rural 100 bedded hospital; 2) to compare and contrast the AMR patterns noted with published ICMR guidelines; 3) to examine the issue of AMR and antibiotic mismatch; and 4) to identify local factors influencing drug-bug mismatch at the local level.

The data were obtained from two independently conceived projects (Site 1: Urban tertiary care hospital, Site 2: Rural 100-bedded hospital).

Local antibiograms were made, and the antibiotic resistance patterns were compared between the urban and rural sites and with data published in the 2017 ICMR national guideline for AMR.

Descriptive statistics including means and medians were used.

Our data reveal: a) a significant mismatch between sensitivity patterns and antibiotics prescribed; b) The national guidelines fail to capture the local picture of AMR, highlighting the need for local data; and c) challenges with data collection/retrieval, access and accuracy of diagnostic tools, administrative issues, and lack of local expertise limit antimicrobial stewardship efforts.

Our study finds the burden of AMR high in both rural and urban sites, reinforcing that AMR burden cannot be ignored in rural settings. It also highlights that national data obtained from tertiary care settings fail to capture the local picture, highlighting the need for local data. Mechanisms of linking rural practices, primary health centres, and small hospitals with a common microbiology laboratory and shared data platforms will facilitate antibiotic stewardship at the community level.