Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections in Pediatric Patients Hospitalized at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia

• Main Authors: Fajr A. Saeedi (Author), Moustafa A. Hegazi (Author), Hani Alsaedi (Author), Ahmed Hussain Alganmi (Author), Jawahir A. Mokhtar (Author), Eilaf Majdi Metwalli (Author), Hanaa Hamadallah (Author), Ghassan S. Siam (Author), Abdullah Alaqla (Author), Abdullah Alsharabi (Author), Sultan Ahmed Alotaibi (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections (MDRIs) constitute a major global threat due to increased patient morbidity/mortality and hospital stay/healthcare costs. A few studies from KSA, including our locality, addressed antimicrobial resistance in pediatric patients. This study was performed to recognize the incidence and clinical/microbiologic features of MDRIs in hospitalized pediatric patients. A retrospective cross-sectional study included pediatric patients < 18 years, admitted to King Abdulaziz University Hospital, between October 2021 and November 2022, with confirmed positive cultures of bacteria isolated from blood/body fluids. Patients' medical files provided the required data. MDR organisms (MDROs) were identified in 12.8% of the total cultures. The incidence of MDRIs was relatively high, as it was detected in 42% of patients and in 54.3% of positive bacterial cultures especially among critically ill patients admitted to the NICU and PICU. Pneumonia/ventilator-associated pneumonia was the main type of infection in 37.8% of patients with MDROs. <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> was the most common significantly isolated MDRO in 39.5% of MDR cultures. Interestingly, a low weight for (no need for their as terminology weight for age is standard and well-known) was the only significant risk factor associated with MDROs (<i>p</i> = 0.02). Mortality was significantly higher (<i>p</i> = 0.001) in patients with MDROs (32.4%) than in patients without MDROs (3.9%). Patients who died including 85.7% of patients with MDROs had significantly longer durations of admission, more cultures, and utilized a larger number of antibiotics than the surviving patients (<i>p</i> = 0.02, <i>p</i> = 0.01, <i>p</i> = 0.04, respectively). This study provided a comprehensive update on the seriously alarming problem of MDROs, and its impacts on pediatric patients. The detected findings are crucial and are a helpful guide to decid for implementing effective strategies to mitigate MDROs.

Item Description

10.3390/children11040444
2227-9067