High resistance rate against 15 different antibiotics in aerobic gram-negative bacteria isolates of cardiology intensive care unit patients.

Aerobic gram negative bacteria were isolated and examined microbiologically from various clinical samples of 602 patients hospitalized between January 1997 and December 2000 in surgical and coronary intensive care units (ICUs). A total of 827 isolates were obtained from 602 patients. The majority of microorganisms were isolated from the respiratory tract (50.3%) and blood (39.9%). Pseudomonas spp. were the most frequently isolated gram negative species (32.7%), followed by Acinetobacter spp. (24.0%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (19.4%). High resistance rates to all antibiotics studied were observed. Imipenem and meropenem were the most effective antibiotics against gram negatives.