Tracking Antibiotic Resistance Trends in Central Iran Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic From 2021 to 2023: A Comprehensive Epidemiological Study.

BACKGROUND

The emergence of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) appears to be having an impact on antibiotic resistance patterns. Specific circumstances during the COVID-19 era may have played a role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aimed to look at the changes in AMR patterns of , , and at Al-Zahra Hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From March 2021 to January 2023, 3651 clinical samples were collected from patients hospitalized at Isfahan's Al-Zahra Hospital. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recommended procedures for detecting gram-negative bacteria and assessing antibiotic susceptibility were used. We divided the information into three years.

RESULTS

Highest resistance rates were seen in to Ciprofloxacin (98.0%) and Ampicillin-Sulbactam (97.0%). For the resistance rate for Ceftazidime (36.1), Levofloxacin (37.8), and Meropenem (47.1) dropped seriously in 2022.

CONCLUSION

During the second year of the pandemic in central Iran, all three species studied showed rising rates of AMR. This can be attributable to two peaks within Iran on May 6, 2021 and August 27, 2021. The results of this study show that , , and bacteria in central Iran have a higher level of antibiotic resistance than previously studied strains before the pandemic.