Antimicrobial resistance pattern in clinical Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates obtained from a secondary-care hospital prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait

The study objective was to compare the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in clinical and isolates obtained from a secondary-care hospital prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted based on AMR profiles of clinical Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. The AMR data represented isolates from five specimen types (body fluids; blood; respiratory; wound, bone, or other tissues; and urine) of patients admitted to four wards (surgical, medical, pediatric, and maternal-postnatal). Tested isolates between January 2019 and February 2020 represented the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period in Kuwait, whereas those from February 2020 until April 2021 represented the 'during COVID-19' period. A total of 1,303 isolates (57.2% and 42.8% ) were analyzed. For ceftazidime, ertapenem and meropenem, the prevalence of AMR in was significantly (p