Antimicrobial resistance prevalence rates in hospital antibiograms reflect prevalence rates among pathogens associated with hospital-acquired infections.
To determine whether routine antibiograms (summaries reporting resistance of all tested isolates) reflect resistance rates among pathogens associated with hospital-acquired infections, we compared data collected from 2 different surveillance components in the same 166 intensive care units (ICUs). ICUs reported data during the same months to both the infection-based surveillance and the laboratory-based surveillance. Paired comparisons of the percentage of isolates resistant were made between systems within each ICU. No significant differences existed (P>.05) between the percentage of isolates resistant from the infection-based system and laboratory-based system for all antimicrobial-resistant organisms studied, except methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus species. The mean difference in percentage resistance was higher from the infection-based system than the laboratory-based system for S. aureus (mean difference, +8%, P<.001) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (mean difference, +9%, P<.001). Overall, hospital antibiograms reflected susceptibility patterns among isolates associated with hospital-acquired infections. Hospital antibiograms may underestimate the relative frequency of methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus species when associated with hospital-acquired infections.
Fridkin
S K
SK
Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. skf0@cdc.gov
Edwards
J R
JR
Tenover
F C
FC
Gaynes
R P
RP
McGowan
J E
JE
D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D015991:Epidemiologic Measurements; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence