title: Imipenem resistance in aerobic gram-negative bacteria.
abstract: A prospective study was undertaken to observe the emergence of resistance to imipenem, if any, among aerobic gram-negative bacteria. A total of 736 isolates were tested during 1994-95 and less than 1% of them were resistant to imipenem, whereas the next year ('95-'96) the rate increased to 11 of the 903 isolates tested. The resistant isolates during '94-'95 were all Stenotrophomonas maltophilia whereas the spectrum of resistant bacterial species increased in '95-'96 to include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus mirabilis and Morganella morganii with a tendency to an increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the later part of the year. A majority (72%) of the resistant isolates were from patients with burns, and burn wounds were most frequently infected with such organisms. These data suggest that over a period of time aerobic gram-negative bacteria may develop resistance to imipenem and the pool of such bacteria increases with extensive use of the drug. Non-fermentative aerobic bacteria tend to develop resistance faster with widespread dissemination than Enterobacteriaceae. Hospital Burn Units are a potential source of development of such resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ibn Sina Hospital, Kuwait.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Modakkas
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Sanyal
mesh_terms: D002053:Burn Units; D002056:Burns / Q000382:microbiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D006088:Gram-Negative Aerobic Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007730:Kuwait; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013845:Thienamycins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance
chemical_list: D013845:Thienamycins; D015378:Imipenem