Perfil microbiológico de culturas coletadas de pacientes internados numa unidade de terapia intensiva

Abstract

The ability of some microorganisms to survive and remain viable, even under the action of antimicrobial agents, is called resistance. As it represents a favorable environment to resistant bacterial strains growth, in addition to receiving the critical cases from the community, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) responds to most culture requests in a hospital. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and antimicrobial resistance profile of microorganisms isolated in cultures from patients treated at the ICU of Federal University of Sergipe’s Lagarto University Hospital (HUL-UFS), between January and December 2021. It is an observational,cross-sectional and analytical study with a quantitative approach. The requested sample types, the isolated microorganisms, and the resistance profile to the tested antimicrobials were evaluated. Clinical variables were also analyzed, such as: patients’ gender, age and comorbidities, as well as hospitalization time and outcome. A higher occurrence of resistant strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified, with absence of Staphylococcus aureus. The samples with the highest prevalence of positivity were catheter tip, tracheal aspirate, bronchoalveolar lavage and catheterized urine. No significant differences were observed regarding the analyzed clinical variables. The most frequently isolated germs, in general, are in line with the microbiota found in other Brazilian ICUs. It is possible that healthcare-related infection may be a contributing factor to explain the most prevalent types of positive samples. In addition, the parsimonious request for cultures at the HUL-UFS, reserving the test for more severe patients, may explain the homogeneity of the sample found in terms of the analyzed clinical variables. The findings of this study should contribute to therapeutic decision-making by the clinical team at the HUL-UFS’ ICU, in addition to reinforcing worldwide research efforts on antimicrobial resistance.