Time Trends in Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Respiratory Pathogens in a Tertiary Hospital in Rome, Italy: A Retrospective Analysis (2018-2023).

BACKGROUND

The increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing concern for global health. Understanding longitudinal trends in pathogen prevalence and resistance patterns is essential for guiding clinical management and antibiotic stewardship. This retrospective observational study analyzed respiratory microbial isolates collected from 2018 to 2023 in Tor Vergata University Hospital, Rome, Italy.

METHODS

The data were analyzed through WHOnet 2025 software, and the breakpoint references used are those of EUCAST 2025. The data analyzed included pathogen identification, antibiotic resistance rates, and specimen types. Time-trend analyses were conducted to assess changes in pathogen prevalence and antibiotic resistance rates over time, using the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression model.

RESULTS

More than 54,000 unique microorganism/drug associations were analyzed, with the majority of them relative to inpatients (over 90%). A. baumannii showed persistently high prevalence and drug resistance to multiple antibiotics. Significant upward resistance trends of K. pneumoniae to multiple antibiotics were observed. Approximately 20% of clinical isolates were fungi, also including some non-albicans Candida (NAC) species, which exhibit intrinsic resistance to azoles. Other microorganisms displayed variable trends in prevalence and resistance profiles.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings underscore the dynamism of changing patterns of prevalence of microorganisms and their resistance to antimicrobials. They underscore the importance of continuous microbiological surveillance to optimize empirical therapies and guide infection control policies.