Antimicrobial resistance prevalence rates in hospital antibiograms reflect prevalence rates among pathogens associated with hospital-acquired infections

Clin Infect Dis. 2001 Aug 1;33(3):324-30. doi: 10.1086/321893. Epub 2001 Jun 21.

Abstract

To determine whether routine antibiograms (summaries reporting resistance of all tested isolates) reflect resistance rates among pathogens associated with hospital-acquired infections, we compared data collected from 2 different surveillance components in the same 166 intensive care units (ICUs). ICUs reported data during the same months to both the infection-based surveillance and the laboratory-based surveillance. Paired comparisons of the percentage of isolates resistant were made between systems within each ICU. No significant differences existed (P>.05) between the percentage of isolates resistant from the infection-based system and laboratory-based system for all antimicrobial-resistant organisms studied, except methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus species. The mean difference in percentage resistance was higher from the infection-based system than the laboratory-based system for S. aureus (mean difference, +8%, P<.001) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (mean difference, +9%, P<.001). Overall, hospital antibiograms reflected susceptibility patterns among isolates associated with hospital-acquired infections. Hospital antibiograms may underestimate the relative frequency of methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus species when associated with hospital-acquired infections.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Cross Infection / epidemiology*
  • Cross Infection / microbiology
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial*
  • Epidemiologic Measurements
  • Humans
  • Intensive Care Units* / statistics & numerical data
  • Prevalence