Multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter cloacae isolated from intensive care units of Qazvin and Tehran hospitals

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter cloacae are the most common organisms involved in clinical disease among patients admitted in ICUs. The treatment of these infections is often difficult due to several virulence factors and drug resistance mechanisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate multidrug-resistance pattern among clinical P. aeruginosa and E. cloacae isolates collected from ICUs. In total, 82 and 49 P. aeruginosa and E. cloacae isolates were collected from ICUs of Tehran and Qazvin hospitals. The species identification was performed by standard laboratory methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility and multidrug resistance (MDR) pattern were further evaluated by Kirby-Baure method according to CLSI guideline. In this study, the highest resistance rate was shown to cefpodoxime (98.8%) and cefotaxime (97.6%) in P. aeruginosa and to amoxicillin-clavulanic (98%) acid and ampicillin (95.9%) in E. cloacae isolates. Twenty six (53.1%) E. cloacae and 43 (52.4%) P. aeruginosa isolates showed the multidrug resistance pattern. The present study showed the considerable frequency of MDR pattern among P. aeruginosa and E. cloacae isolates collected from studied hospitals. Therefore, there is need for efficient infection control and appropriate therapeutic practices, especially in ICUs.