Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Aerobic Bacterial Pathogen Isolated from Endotracheal Aspirate

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the major hospital-acquired infections and the emergence of bacterial resistance is common among patients in the intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of the study is to identify the common bacterial pathogen isolated from an endotracheal (ET) aspirate and its antibiotic susceptibility pattern. A prospective analytical study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital for a period of 1 year. All ET aspirate sample sent to the microbiology laboratory was processed and identified by standard biochemical tests and antibiotic sensitivity was by disk diffusion method as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Of the total 217 samples studied, 85 (39.17.1%) were culture sterile and 132 (60.82%) showed culture positive. Among 132 isolates, the predominant organism was Acinetobacter baumannii (36.36%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (24.24%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.45%). We have reported a higher percentage of resistance among the isolated gram-negative bacilli to carbapenems, aminoglycosides, and third-generation cephalosporins, with increased sensitivity to piperacillin-tazobactam and cefoperazone-sulbactam. In our study, A. baumannii was the predominantly isolated gram-negative bacilli followed by K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. One of the rising concerns to hospital-acquired respiratory pathogens is the surge of multidrug resistance patterns. Hence, strict adherence to antibiotic policy and appropriate use according to the guidelines will save the use of drugs in the future in life-threatening conditions.