antimicrobial resistance of nosocomial strain of acinetobacter baumannii in children’s medical center of tehran: a 6-year prospective study

there are increasing reports of emergence of multiple drug resistant (mdr) acinetobacter spp in the world; however there are a few reports in our country. 145 a. baumannii isolates from distinct wards and children's medical center (cmc) in tehran were studied in order to find the profile of antibiotic resistance among them. 40.6% (59/145) of a. baumannii isolates were identified as mdr. overall susceptibility rates to cotrimoxazole, chloramphenicole and ciprofloxacin were 23.4%, 16.9% and 20.1%, respectively. frequency susceptibility rates to amikacin, kanamycin, gentamycin and tobramycin decreased gradually from 81.2%, 50%, 50% and 62.5% in 2002 to 25%, 15.6%, 28.1% and 25% in 2007 respectively. overall susceptibility rates to cephalosporines cephalotin, ceftazidime, cefteriaxon, ceftizoxime and cefixime were 9.3%, 14.7%, 16.2%, 15.9% and 18%, respectively. susceptibility to carbapenems was assessed only in 2007. the susceptibility rates of imipenem and meropenem were shown to be 50% and 46.8%, respectively. our data indicates that mdr a. baumannii strains are spreading and carbapenem resistance is becoming more common in iran. our findings also highlight the importance of clinicians' access to updated susceptibility data regarding a. baumannii in developing countries such as iran.