Nasim Ali Sheikh, Khalid Bashir, Abrar Ahmad Shafique, Shahida Khawaja.
An audit for microbiological surveillance and antimicrobial susceptibility in the intensive care unit.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;4(2):93-6.

Objectives: To document the prevalence of microorganisms and their susceptibility to different antimicrobial drugs in our ICU over a period of one year. Methodology: 570 samples for culture and sensitivity were sent to laboratory from 6 sites; blood, central venous catheter (CVC) tip, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), wound tissue, tracheobronchial secretions and urine. Results: 238 out of 570 culture reports were positive; 9 organisms were tested positive; Escherichia coli (110), Pseudomonas (42), Staph aureus (32), Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus [MRSA] (20), Klebsiella (10), Proteus (10), Candida (6), Acinatobacter (5) and Beta-hemolytic streptococci (3). Meropenem, Imipenem, Cefoperazone/Sulbactam, Piperacillin/Tazobactam, Amikacin, Ceftriaxone/Ceftazidime and Ciprofloxacin in descending order were found to be the antimicrobials with broadest spectrum. Conclusions: Microbiological surveillance in the ICU facilitates the monitoring of changes of dominant microorganisms and antibiotic susceptibilities in the unit helping in the decision of empirical treatment regimes and, as a result, selecting the right antibiotics.

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