Frequency and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Acinetobacter Baumannii in Surgical site Infections at Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology

Acinetobacter is an important nosocomial pathogen to cause infections such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, meningitis, wound and surgical site infections including flesh eating bacterium necrotizing fasciitis and urinary tract Infections. A. baumannii can be spread through direct contact with surfaces, objects and the skin of contaminated persons. Acinetobactter has acquired resistance to most of the antibiotics and can play havoc in hospital environment due to its ability to survive desiccation and in moist environment in the presence of disinfectants. Currently, there are 32 genospecies of Acinetobacter known. Among these, A. baumannii is the most important in the clinical context, since it is the most frequently isolated in nosocomial infections and the one associated with the highest mortality rate. Objective To find out the frequency of A. baumannii causing surgical site infections after cardiac surgery and best antibiotic options for its treatment in patients admitted in Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology. Materials and Methods A retrospective study was carried out to find out bacterial cultures in admitted patients at Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology with surgical site infections from July 2017 to August 2018. A total of 405 pus specimens collected from patients with suspected surgical site infections were tested for bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test. Patient profile was noted from centralized hospital data. Results Out of total 405 specimens 13 were culture positive for A. baumannii (3.2%). Ten isolates were Pan Drug Resistant (PDR). Conclusion A. baumannii infection although infrequent in our set up is mostly pan resistant. Infection control practices & surveillance are important to avoid its spread in hospitalized patients.