title: Antimicrobial susceptibility of Acinetobacter clinical isolates and emerging antibiogram trends for nosocomial infection management.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The drug resistant Acinetobacter strains are important causes of nosocomial infections that are difficult to control and treat. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Acinetobacter strains isolated from different clinical specimens obtained from patients belonging to different age groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 716 non-duplicate Acinetobacter isolates were collected from the infected patients admitted to tertiary-care hospitals at Lahore, Pakistan, over a period of 28 months. The Acinetobacter isolates were identified using API 20E, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed and interpreted according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The isolation rate of Acinetobacter was high from the respiratory specimens, followed by wound samples. Antibiotic susceptibility analyses of the isolates revealed that the resistance to cefotaxime and ceftazidime was the most common, in 710 (99.2%) specimens each, followed by the resistance to gentamicin in 670 (93.6%) isolates, and to imipenem in 651 (90.9%) isolates. However, almost all isolates were susceptible to tigecycline, colistin, and polymyxin B.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study showed the alarming trends of resistance of Acinetobacter strains isolated from clinical specimens to the various classes of antimicrobials. The improvement of microbiological techniques for earlier and more accurate identification of bacteria is necessary for the selection of appropriate treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.|Chughtais Lahore Lab, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sohail
authors.affiliation: College of Allied Health Professionals, Directorate of Medical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Abid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Bilal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aslam
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waseem
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahid
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akram
authors.affiliation: College of Allied Health Professionals, Directorate of Medical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.|Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mohsin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khurshid
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Hidayat
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rasool
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*; D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents