Changes in Antimicrobial Resistance and Etiology of Blood Culture Isolates: Results of a Decade (2010-2019) of Surveillance in a Northern Region of Colombia.

BACKGROUND

Bloodstream infections (BSI) are important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Antimicrobial surveillance is essential for identifying emerging resistance and generating empirical treatment guides, the purpose of this study is to analyze trends in antimicrobial susceptibility of BSI from 2010 to 2019 in healthcare institutions from Medellin and nearby towns in Colombia.

METHODS

A Whonet database was analyzed from the GERMEN antimicrobial surveillance network; frequency and antibiotic susceptibility trends were calculated on more frequent microorganisms using Mann Kendall and Sen's Slope Estimator Test.

RESULTS

61,299 isolates were included; the three microorganisms more frequent showed a significant increasing trend through time (Sen's Slope estimator = 0.7 p = <0.01) (Sen's Slope estimator = 0.60 p = <0.01) and (Sen's Slope estimator = 0.30 p = <0.01). showed a significant increase trend in cefepime and ceftazidime resistance, while showed a significant increase in resistance to cefepime, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin. increases its susceptibility to all analyzed antibiotics and to oxacillin. No increasing trend was observed for carbapenem resistance.

CONCLUSION

An upward trends was observed in more frequent microorganisms and resistance to third and fourth-generation cephalosporins for and ; in contrast, not increasing trends in antibiotic resistance was observed for and . The essential role of AMR-surveillance programs is to point out and identify these trends, which should improve antibiotic resistance control.