Antimicrobial resistance in Peruvian hospital settings

Coralith Garcia

Research output: ThesisDoctoral dissertation - Doctoral dissertation

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial misuse are of global concern but affect more the resource-constrained settings. Limited research has been done in Peru in order to address these topics. We interviewed 256 physicians of two hospitals of Lima in order to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices about antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobials use. Most of them agreed that antimicrobial resistance is a problem worldwide and within Peru, but only 20% correctly estimated the level of resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae to third generation cephalosporins. We also developed a network of nine hospitals in Lima to perform a resistance surveillance of key isolates causing bacteremia. We found during a one-year period that Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently Gram positive isolated (22%). K. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli were the most frequent Gram-negative bacilli, >75% of both produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs). ESBL-producers microorganisms had also higher level of co-resistance to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Finally, to explore the antimicrobial resistance and molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, we analyzed isolates from patients and healthcare workers (HCWs). Fifty percent of 338 blood isolates were methicillin-resistant (MRSA); one predominant multidrug-resistant MRSA strain was found in all hospitals (ST 5 spa t149-SCCmec I-, the Cordobes-Chilean clone. MRSA nasal carriage rate of 8.7%, was found among HCWs. The two most common clones circulating among HCWs were also the two predominant among patients with bacteremia. There is a need to implement cost-effective infection control policies to reduce the transmission of multidrug resistant microorganisms in these settings.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationBruxelles
Publisher
Publication statusPublished - 2016

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