Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Pathogens Causing Nosocomial Infections at a University Hospital in Taiwan, 1981-1999

Abstract

To determine the distribution and antimicrobial drug resistance in bacterial pathogens causing nosocomial infections, surveillance data on nosocomial infections documented from 1981 to 1999 at National Taiwan University Hospital were analyzed. During this period, 35,580 bacterial pathogens causing nosocomial infections were identified. Candida species increased considerably, ranking first by 1999 in the incidence of pathogens causing all nosocomial infections, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Candida species also increased in importance as bloodstream infection isolates, from 1.0% in 1981-1986 to 16.2% in 1999. The most frequent isolates from urinary tract infections were Candida species (23.6%), followed by Escherichia coli (18.6%) and P. aeruginosa (11.0%). P. aeruginosa remained the most frequent isolates for respiratory tract and surgical site infections in the past 13 years. A remarkable increase in incidence was found in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (from 4.3% in 1981-1986 to 58.9% in 1993-1998), cefotaxime-resistant E. coli (from 0% in 1981-1986 to 6.1% in 1993-1998), and cefotaxime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (from 4.0% in 1981-1986 to 25.8% in 1993-1998). Etiologic shifts in nosocomial infections and an upsurge of antimicrobial resistance among these pathogens, particularly those isolated from intensive care units, are impressive and alarming.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of the Essential Oil fromMyrtus communisLeaves

“…Therefore, it is not recommended to use this method for determination of MIC of essential oils 20 . The proportion of nosocomial infections, especially bloodstream infections, caused by Candida species other than C. albicans is increasing 16 . The essential oil inhibited the growth of all tested yeasts at a concentration ranging from 0.06 -4 μL/mL.…”

“…In recent years, pathogens causing nosocomial infections have started to exhibit antiobiotic resistance 4,12,16,29 . Surveillance data reported by the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance shows that the distribution of pathogens causing nosocomial infections varies with time and ISSN Print: 0972-060X ISSN Online: 0976-5026 location 28 .…”

Pentaclethra macroloba tannins fractions active against methicillin-resistant staphylococcal and Gram-negative strains showing selective toxicity

“…resistant to carbapenems Touati et al, 2009). The prevalence of antimicrobial resistant isolates has increasing (Hsueh et al, 2002) as described recently by Touati and colleagues (2009) that assigned a mortality rate of 32% among neonates caused by multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii.…”

“…(Nunes et al, 2007;NascimentoCarvalho et al, 2008), and Gram-negative bacilli Hsueh et al, 2002;Touati et al, 2009;Nogueira et al, 2006) can make difficult the treatment of infectious diseases. Then, as a new therapeutic option we evaluated the antibacterial activity of P. macroloba extracts against Gram-positive and Gram-negative hospital bacteria as well as against reference strains, establishing the minimum inhibitory activity of the active fractions.…”

Antibiotic Resistance Profiling and Genotyping of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci Collected from an Urban River Basin in the Provincial City of Miyazaki, Japan

“…Vancomycin is used for the treatment of serious infections caused by gram-positive bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci when treatment with other antibiotics has failed. VRE have been detected in regions such as Europe, US, and South Asia [11,[13][14][15]. Although the occurrence of VRE in Japan is much lower in comparison with that in these regions, expansion of VRE nosocomial infections is considered a public health concern [16].…”