title: Bacterial Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance in the Surgery Wards of a Large Teaching Hospital in Southern Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgical infections represent an increasingly important problem for the National Health System. In this study we retrospectively evaluated the bacterial epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of the microorganisms concerned as well as the utilization of antibiotics in the General and Emergency Surgery wards of a large teaching hospital in southern Italy in the period 2011-2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data concerning non-duplicate bacterial isolates and antimicrobial susceptibility were retrieved from the Vitek 2 database. The pharmacy provided data about the consumption of antibiotics in the above reported wards. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 94 Gram-negative were isolated in 2011, 77 in 2012, and 125 in 2013, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa always being the most frequently isolated microorganisms. A. baumannii showed high rates of resistance to carbapenems (with values of 100% in 2011 and 2012) and low rates of resistance to tigecycline, colistin and amikacin. In the same years, there were respectively 105, 93, and 165 Gram-positive isolated. The rate of MRSA isolates ranged from 66% to 75% during the study period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show no significant increase in antimicrobial resistance over the period in question, and a higher rate of both MRSA isolates and resistance to carbapenems in A. baumannii compared with other European data.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gioia
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Simone
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noviello
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgery, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo Giuseppe
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Di Crescenzo
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filippelli
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Unit, "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona Hospital", Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rega
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Unit, "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona Hospital", Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Massari
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Unit, "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona Hospital", Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Giovanna
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Elberti
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Unit, "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona Hospital", Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grisi
authors.affiliation: Hygiene Unit, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boccia
authors.affiliation: Hygiene Unit, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Caro
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leone