Bacteriological profile and its antimicrobial resistance pattern among patients of ventilator associated pneumonia

Background and Objectives: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections, resulting in prolonged hospitalization with increased morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis with appropriate antibiotics can reduce the emergence of resistant pathogens. The objective of this study is to find the bacteriological profile and antimicrobial resistance patterns among patients diagnosed with VAP. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study carried out at a tertiary care hospital. All endotracheal specimens from mechanically ventilated patients with a clinical suspicion of VAP sent to the department of microbiology. All isolates were processed as per standard laboratory procedures and antibiogram was determined. Results and Interpretation: The study comprised 100samples, in which 40 bacterial isolates were obtained, most of them were gram-negative organisms (90 %) and only 10 % were gram-positive organisms of which Klebsiella pneumoniae (30 %) Acinetobacter baumannii (22.5 %) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20%) were the commonest. High rates of resistance to cephalosporins were noted. Among gram-negative bacilli, multidrug-resistant organisms constituted 27.50%. Conclusions: Due to high rate of multidrug resistant organisms in ICU, early and correct diagnosis of VAP is an urgent challenge for an optimal antibiotic treatment and cure. Hence, knowing the local microbial flora causing VAP and effective infection control practices are essential to improve clinical outcomes.