Drug-resistant infections linked to higher in-hospital mortality, study finds

In-hospital mortality is significantly higher among patients infected with multidrug resistant or extensively drug-resistant pathogens, a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases found.

Advertisement

Pathogens included Staphylococcus aureusEscherichia coliKlebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii.

The researchers examined antimicrobial susceptibility testing results and mortality outcomes for more than 4,000 patients who visited hospitals in India in 2015. 

Among patients studied, the overall mortality rate was 13.1 percent, with mortality as high as 29 percent among patients infected with A. baumannii. The patients who died were more likely to be older and admitted to the intensive care unit at the time of testing. 

Patients who acquired multidrug resistant bacterial infections were 1.57 times more likely to die, compared to patients with similar susceptible infections. Patients who acquired extensively drug-resistant pathogens infections were 2.65 times more likely to die when considering age, sex, site of infection and number of coinfections, the study found.

The findings can help develop policy efforts to prioritize antibiotic resistance and inform future efforts to track the burden of antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries, the researchers concluded.

More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:
106 cases of polio-like illness confirmed across 29 states
North Carolina sees worst chickenpox outbreak in 20 years — at a school with high vaccine exemption rates
Cell-based flu shot 36% more effective than conventional shot, report finds

Advertisement

Next Up in Clinical Leadership & Infection Control

Advertisement

Comments are closed.