A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study on Antimicrobial Usage and Resistance Rate of Microorganisms in Bintulu Hospital

Abstract

Introduction:

Treatment of infectious diseases with antimicrobials had greatly reduced premature deaths from infections. However, the overuse of antimicrobials have contributed to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Evaluation of local antimicrobial usage patterns and resistance rate of microorganisms are beneficial to promote judicious use of antimicrobial therapy. This study aimed to determine the usage pattern of antimicrobials and its correlation with resistance rate of the most commonly isolated microorganisms in Bintulu Hospital.

Methods:

This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study on the antimicrobial usage of 17 injectable antimicrobials under the Malaysian National Surveillance of Antibiotic Utilisation and its correlation with the resistance rates of microorganisms in adult wards of Bintulu Hospital between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2019.

Results:

An increase of 19.7% in the overall antimicrobial usage was observed in 2019 as compared to 2018. B-lactam/B-lactamase inhibitors and cephalosporins were the most prescribed antimicrobial groups in Bintulu Hospital during the study period. The two groups have contributed to 96.0% of total antimicrobial usage. Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas
aeruginosa were the most common microorganisms isolated from all types of samples collected from the wards.

Conclusion:

Significant differences were observed between antimicrobial usage and resistance rate of commonly isolated microorganisms between 2018 and 2019. Significant correlations between the usage and resistance rate were also observed. Therefore, stricter monitoring, active prospective audits and antimicrobial stewardship are essential to minimise the risk of antimicrobial resistance.