Distribution and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles of Pathogens in Patients With Esophageal Cancer From 2013 to 2022: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Pathogenic microbial infections are closely related to the development and prognosis of esophageal cancer. The distribution and resistance of pathogens in different diseases are regional and gradually change over time. This study aimed to determine the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens isolated from patients with esophageal cancer and provide a reference for the rational use of antibiotics.

METHODS

The results of strain identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of pathogens in patients with esophageal cancer from January 2013 to December 2022 at our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. SPSS Statistics 26.0 (IBM) and R software 4.3.1 were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

In total, 2322 non-repetitive pathogens were isolated from 14,037 samples. Of all strains, 1713 (73.77%) were Gram-negative bacteria, 483 (20.80%) were Gram-positive bacteria, and 126 (5.43%) were fungi. The top 10 pathogens were (19.81%), (12.88%), (9.91%), (9.82%), (7.54%), (3.92%), (3.19%), (3.14%), (2.97%), and (2.15%). The isolation rate of showed an upward trend (< 0.05). The resistance rates of , , , and Enterobacteriaceae bacteria to some common antibiotics showed a tendency to change (< 0.05), and 2019 became a turning point to some extent. All common Gram-positive pathogens were sensitive to vancomycin, except for three spp. isolates that showed intrinsic resistance. The prevalence of MRSA was 65.14% (114/175) in this study. In addition, the resistance rates of MRSA and MSSA to moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, erythromycin, clindamycin, and penicillin were significantly different (< 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Pathogens are diverse in patients with esophageal cancer, with the most common being , followed by . The pathogens exhibited different patterns of resistance. Antibiotics should be used rationally according to pathogen resistance patterns.