Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Assiut · Published 2026-07-27 · DOI 10.21608/bfsa.2026.502570.3182
Mahmoud Reda Gharieb, Enas Abd-El-Meged Deaf, Entsar Hamed Ahmed, Abualauon Mohamed Abedalmohsen
Background: Acinetobacter spp. are important causes of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) and are frequently associated with antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Acinetobacter spp. isolated from ICU patients with HAIs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the ICUs of Assiut University Hospital, Egypt, from August 2024 to August 2025. Clinical specimens were collected from ICU patients who developed confirmed HAIs. Presumptive Acinetobacter isolates were identified using phenotypic and biochemical methods and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the partial beta subunit of RNA polymerase (rpoB) gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disc diffusion method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2024 guidelines. Results: Thirty-six of 334 ICU patients with HAIs (10.8%) were infected with Acinetobacter spp. Lower respiratory tract specimens accounted for the largest proportion of isolates (45.9%), followed by blood specimens (37.8%). High resistance rates were observed against ceftazidime (97.3%), ceftriaxone (91.9%), cefotaxime (91.9%), and levofloxacin (86.5%), whereas doxycycline showed the lowest resistance rate (24.3%). Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and carbapenem-non-susceptible (Carb-NS) phenotypes were detected in 86.5% and 70.3% of isolates, respectively. Conclusion: Acinetobacter spp. accounted for a considerable proportion of HAIs among ICU patients and exhibited high resistance to several commonly used agents, with most isolates demonstrating MDR and Carb-NS phenotypes. These findings highlight the substantial burden of resistant Acinetobacter and the limited remaining treatment options in ICU settings.
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Gharieb, M., Deaf, E., Ahmed, E., et al. (2026). Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Acinetobacter spp. isolated from intensive care unit patient samples. Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Assiut. https://doi.org/10.21608/bfsa.2026.502570.3182