Trends in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

To describe and interpret local antibiograms from a single tertiary care center to monitor the trends of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns and establish baseline data for further surveillance.

Methods

We performed a retrospective descriptive review of antibiograms data between January 2010 and December 2015 from King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Results

A total of 51,491 isolates were identified, and most were gram-negative (76.2%). Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated organism (36.8%), followed by Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (28.4%) and Staphylococcus aureus (27.5%). The detection of antibiotic-resistant organisms, especially extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (31%-41%), increased over time. The sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin improved from 66% to 100% (p less than 0.001). Gram-negative isolates had excellent overall susceptibility to amikacin, variable susceptibility to piperacillin-tazobactam and carbapenems, and declining susceptibility to ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, and cefepime.

Conclusion

Streptococcus pneumoniae susceptibility to penicillin significantly improved over time, which might be because of the introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine. Conversely, the upward trend in resistant gram-negative organisms is worrisome and warrants the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs.