ESBL Activity, MDR, and Carbapenem Resistance among Predominant Enterobacterales Isolated in 2019

Antimicrobial-resistance in Enterobacterales is a serious concern in Saudi Arabia. The present study retrospectively analyzed the antibiograms of Enterobacterales identified from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 from a referral hospital in the Aljouf region of Saudi Arabia. The revised document of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) CR-2015 and Magiorakos et al.'s document were used to define carbapenem resistance and classify resistant bacteria, respectively. The association of carbapenem resistance, MDR, and ESBL with various sociodemographic characteristics was assessed by the chi-square test and odds ratios. In total, 617 Enterobacterales were identified. The predominant (n = 533 (86.4%)) isolates consisted of 232 (37.6%), 200 (32.4%), and 101 (16.4%) Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis, respectively. In general, 432 (81.0%) and 128 (24.0%) isolates were of MDR and ESBL, respectively. The MDR strains were recovered in higher frequency from intensive care units (OR = 3.24 (1.78-5.91); p < 0.01). E. coli and K. pneumoniae resistance rates to imipenem (2.55 (1.21-5.37); p < 0.01) and meropenem (2.18 (1.01-4.67); p < 0.04), respectively, were significantly higher in winter. The data emphasize that MDR isolates among Enterobacterales are highly prevalent. The studied Enterobacterales exhibited seasonal variation in antimicrobial resistance rates towards carbapenems and ESBL activity.