Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Clinically Isolated Strains of Acinetobacter baumannii in a Tertiary Care...

Acinetobacter baumannii accounts for a notable percentage of hospital-acquired infections. The widespread resistance to multiple antibiotic classes complicates treatment efforts. This study aims to find out the pattern of susceptibility of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii (MDRAB) isolated from clinical specimens to antibiotics recommended for testing and use for A. baumannii and to determine a local guide at Tripoli University Hospital (TUH), Tripoli, Libya for the empirical antibiotic treatment of MDRAB based on the susceptibility pattern identified.

This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology at TUH in Libya from January 2021 to June 2021. Identification of isolates was performed using the VITEK® 2 automated system (bioMérieux, France), and the isolates were categorized as susceptible, intermediate susceptible, or resistant according to the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).

A total of 86 A. baumannii isolates were obtained from various clinical specimens from different departments. Isolates show high resistance to most of the tested antibiotics. Beta-lactams and ciprofloxacin were found to be the most resistant, while the highest susceptibility was detected to minocycline and amikacin.

These findings prompt clinicians to consider taking minocycline and amikacin into account when starting empirical therapy for severe infections caused by A. baumannii.