Susceptibility patterns in Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing nosocomial infections.

Nosocomial infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa has not been reported previously in the Gaza Strip. This study aims to determine the distribution of antimicrobial drug resistance in P. aeruginosa causing nosocomial infections. One hundred thirty-one P. aeruginosa isolates were collected from various nosocomial infection clinical samples. The study was conducted between April and October 2003. The results of this study reveal that the most common resistance was to ampicillin, followed by cephalexin. The most effective antimicrobial agents were meropenem and amikacin, respectively. The highest resistance to ciprofloxacin was found among ICU and surgery sections. The data analysis shows that no remarkable difference was reported with respect to previous admission and prior antimicrobial treatment for most antibiotics. The results of this study emphasize the need for constant monitoring of antimicrobial effectiveness to correctly guide empiric therapy and local intervention programs in an attempt to reduce antimicrobial resistance.