title: Acinetobacter baumannii: no more a choosy intruder?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acinetobacter baumannii, a non-fermenter, is fast coming up the list of pathogens causing nosocomial infections. Earlier considered to be a harmless colonizer, or at the most, a pathogen causing mostly respiratory tract infections, it has slowly but successfully emerged as a ubiquitous pathogen causing both community as well as health care associated infections. It has acquired multidrug resistance, and seems to be no more selective in mainly attacking any one or two body systems. According to recent reports, a shy selective bacterium has turned into a dangerous pathogen, capable of causing infections anywhere in the body, thereby adding extra furrows on the forehead of medical community worldwide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the range of infections caused by A. baumannii, and the frequencies thereof, in our tertiary care hospital; and to study their resistance patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 88 isolates of A. baumannii were found from a variety of clinical samples, from hospitalized patients as well as patients attending the outpatient departments. The isolates were subjected to disc-diffusion method for antibiotic sensitivity testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acinetobacter was mostly recovered from samples of pus, followed by endotracheal tube, urine, sputum samples, etc., Imipenem showed highest sensitivity, while other drugs with good sensitivity patterns were aminoglycosides and piperacillin-tazobactum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this tertiary care institution of ours, A. baumannii isolates have shown a high frequency of drug resistance, with imipenem being the best sensitive drug. This non-fermenter is the cause of a variety of infections, irrespective of whether the individuals are hospitalized or are outdoor patients.
authors: Department of Microbiology, Calcutta Medical College, Kolkata, India.
authors: Baishali
authors: B
authors: Chakraborty
authors: Dibyendu
authors: D
authors: Banerjee
authors: Banya
authors: B
authors: Chakraborty
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers