Drug Susceptibility Pattern of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa from Clinical Isolates in Libyan Hospitals

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is recognized for its multiple-drug resistance (MDR) and its association with serious infections. However, such problems worsened with the emergence of Metallo β-lactamases (MBLs) that mediate resistance to β-lactam drugs among P. aeruginosa organisms in recent years. As there is little information on the detec-tion of MBLs genes in P. aeruginosa from patients of the Middle East and Arab countries, including Libya, such information needs to be further investigated. To achieve this goal, a total of 75 P. aeruginosa isolates had been collected from the stocks of the well-known teaching hospital in Tripoli, namely the Burn and Plastic Surgery Center (BPSC), for a pe-riod of 12 months between September 2013 and September 2014. Isolated organisms were identified to the species level and tested for their susceptibility to a variety of anti-microbial agents by the BD Phoenix Automated System, and phenotypic characteristic was examined. The MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates were screened using PCR-based methods. The results of the antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that all isolates were found to be resistant to the tested antibiotics to varying degrees. In regard to the car-bapenems category, similar levels of resistance were demonstrated to imipenem and meropenem (30.7% and 28.4%, respectively). The MDR pattern rate was demonstrated in 34.7% of isolates, while the rate of XDR isolates was17.3%.