1Sakr, S., 2Abboud, M., 3Tawbeh, K., 1Hamam, B., and *1Sheet, I.
1Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese International University, Lebanon
2Haroun Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
3Department of Mathematics and Physics, School of Arts and Sciences,
Lebanese International University, Lebanon
*Correspondence to: imtithal.sheet@liu.edu.lb
Abstract:
Background: Misuse of antibiotics is the leading factor promoting emergence of bacterial resistance, a situation that has become a serious public health challenge. Among the leading bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics are Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which have caused infections in patients, resulting in considerable mortality. The objective of this retrospective study was to assess antibiotic resistance rates of bacterial pathogens isolated from clinical specimens in two Lebanese hospitals between the years 2018 and 2019.
Methodology: Bacteria isolated from routine clinical specimens collected from hospitalized patients in two hospitals, Haroun and Bekaa, in Lebanon for 2018 and 2019, were analyzed. Bacteria isolation and identification were carried out at the laboratory of each hospital using conventional microbiological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testings (AST) of each bacterial isolate to antibiotics were performed by the disc diffusion test and interpreted using EUCAST, CLSI or WHO/AST guidelines. Comparisons of the mean resistance rates of each isolate to individual antibiotics by year of isolation were done using the Z-test and p< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Continue reading “A retrospective study of antibiotic resistance patterns of bacterial pathogens isolated from patients in two Lebanese hospitals for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019)”