Identification of Acinetobacter baumannii from clinical ACB complex isolates of nine sentinel surveillance sites of IEDCR: focus on their distribution and antibiotic susceptibility pattern

Abstract

ACB complex, a major concern in hospitals, particularly in intensive care unit (ICU), causes nosocomial infections & is multidrug-resistant (MDR), making infection management practices more challenging. (Acb) complex consists of four species. Infection with different (Acb) complex species may result in different risk factors and clinical consequences because these nosocomial pathogens species vary in terms of pathological and biological characteristics and for this accurate identification of species is necessary. It is quite challenging to accurately differentiate between various Acinetobacter species through biochemical tests and automated techniques like MALDI-TOF MS. A. baumannii is the most clinically significant species among the (Acb) complex, accounting for 80% of infections. Utilization of blaOXA-51 gene through RT-PCR for molecular identification of A. baumannii proves to be significantly more accurate and reliable than conventional and automated methods. A. baumannii has emerged as a notorious pathogen in recent decades. It has been associated with a rise in health issues and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that are difficult to treat with antibiotics. In this study, nine different sentinel surveillance sites were selected to collect isolates. Isolates were taken in consideration from the year of 2017 to the month of May of 2023 to figure out the prevalence. In total, 133 clinical (Acb) complex isolates were taken as suspected A. baumannii in which 82 isolates were identified as A. baumannii by detecting the blaOXA-51 gene through RT-PCR. Antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) was performed for the identified A. baumannii isolates through 12 antibiotics from the 7 antimicrobial agent groups of Acinetobacter spp. panel of CLSI 2022. Results showed that highest rate (79%) of resistant isolates were seen against Ceftazidime & highest rate (84%) of sensitive isolates were seen against Tigecycline. Fifty isolates (61%) and fifteen isolates (18%) were found to be MDR & suspected XDR.