High contribution and impact of resistant gram negative pathogens causing surgical site infections at a multi-hospital healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, 2007-2016

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases 2020-04, Vol.20 (1), p.275-275, Article 275
• Main Authors: El-Saed, Aiman, Balkhy, Hanan H, Alshamrani, Majid M, Aljohani, Sameera, Alsaedi, Asim, Al Nasser, Wafa, El Gammal, Ayman, Almohrij, Saad A, Alyousef, Ziyad, Almunif, Sara, Alzahrani, Mohammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotic resistance; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Bacteria; Cephalosporins; Cesarean section; Colorectal surgery; Cross Infection - epidemiology; Cross Infection - microbiology; Data collection; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; E coli; Economic impact; Escherichia coli; Evidence-based medicine; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gram-Negative Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Health aspects; Health care; Hospital; Hospitals; Humans; Impact resistance; Infection; Infections; Infectious diseases; Klebsiella; Laboratories; Male; Methicillin; Microbial drug resistance; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Military reserves; Mortality; Multidrug resistance; Multidrug resistant organisms; Pathogenic microorganisms; Pathogens; Prospective Studies; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus infections; Surgery; Surgical site infections; Surgical Wound Infection - epidemiology; Surgical Wound Infection - microbiology; Surveillance; Vancomycin; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-4939-6

Despite being largely preventable, surgical site infections (SSIs) are still one of the most frequent healthcare-associated infections. The presence of resistant pathogens can further augment their clinical and economic impacts. The objective was to estimate the distribution and resistance in SSI pathogens in Saudi Arabia and to compare them to the US National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) hospitals. Targeted SSI surveillance was prospectively conducted on several surgical procedures done between 2007 and 2016 in four hospitals of Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. Definitions and methodology of SSI and bacterial resistance were based on NHSN. A total 492 pathogens causing 403 SSI events were included. The most frequent pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (22.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.1%), Klebsiella spp. (12.2%), and Escherichia coli (12.2%), with marked variability between surgeries. Approximately 30.3% of Staphylococcus aureus was methicillin-resistant (MRSA), 13.0% of Enterococcus spp. was vancomycin-resistant (VRE), and 5.5% of Enterobacteriaceae were carbapenem resistant (CRE). The highest multidrug-resistant (MDR) GNPs were Acinetobacter spp. (58.3%), Klebsiella spp. (20.4%) and Escherichia coli (16.3%). MRSA was significantly less frequent while cephalosporin-resistant Klebsiella spp., MDR Klebsiella spp., and MDR Escherichia coli were significantly more frequent in our hospitals compared with NHSN hospitals. GNPs in a tertiary care setting in Saudi Arabia are responsible for more than 60% of SSI with more resistant patterns than Western countries. This information may be critical to secure resources and ensure support for caregivers and healthcare leaders in implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs and evidence-based SSI preventive practices.