Tracking Antibiotic Resistance Trends in Central Iran Amidst the Covid-۱۹ Pandemic from ۲۰۲۱ to ۲۰۲۳: A Comprehensive Epidemiological Study

BACKGROUND AND ABJECTIVEThe emergence of the coronavirus disease ۲۰۱۹ appears to have an impact on antibiotic resistance patterns. It is possible that specific circumstances during the Covid-۱۹ era could be influential in the escalation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aimed to examine the alterations in antimicrobial resistance patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii in Al-Zahra hospital.MATERIALS AND METHODSOver a span of three years, from March ۲۰۲۱ to January ۲۰۲۳, a total of ۳۶۵۱ clinical samples were collected from patients who were hospitalized at Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan. The standard methods the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommended for identifying gram-negative bacteria and conducting antibiotic susceptibility testing were employed. We categorized the data into three years.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONHighest resistance rates were seen in Acinetobacter baumannii to Ciprofloxacin (۹۸.۰%) and Ampicillin-Sulbactam (۹۷.۰%). For P. aeruginosa the resistance rate for ceftazidime (۳۶.۱), Levofloxacin (۳۷.۸) and Meropenem (۴۷.۱) dropped seriously in ۲۰۲۲.CONCLUSIONDuring the second year of the pandemic in central Iran, all three species evaluated in this study have exhibited increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This can be attributed to two peaks that occurred on May ۶th, ۲۰۲۱, and August ۲۷th, ۲۰۲۱, within Iran. The findings of this study indicate that P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and A. baumannii strains in central Iran possess a higher degree of antibiotic resistance compared to previous studies conducted prior to the pandemic.

کلیدواژه ها:

Antibiotic resistance ، COVID-۱۹ pandemic ، Pseudomonas aeruginosa ، Klebsiella pneumoniae ، Acinetobacter baumanni