A three-year survey of the antimicrobial resistance of microorganisms at a Chinese hospital

The present retrospective study aimed to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility of bacteria at Shanghai First People's Hospital (Shanghai, China) between 2009 and 2011. An increasing trend of antibiotic resistance was observed in this hospital between 2009 and 2011. Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus were the most prevalent resistant strains. Antimicrobial susceptibility was detected using standard Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and analyzed using World Health Organization software. E. coli was demonstrated to be the most prevalent bacterium in the present survey between 2009 and 2011 (16.2, 20.0 and 19.6%, respectively); followed by A. baumannii (13.5, 13.3 and 10.6%, respectively) and S. aureus. Notably, >70% of E. coli and 70% of S. aureus were resistant to common antibiotics; whereas 60% of A. baumannii and 20% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant to the majority of the antibiotics investigated. In 2011, Enterococcus faecalis exhibited a resistance rate of 55.6% against levofloxacin and E. faecium exhibited a 53.2% resistance rate. The present survey demonstrated an increasing trend in bacterial resistance against antibiotics; therefore, more stringent guidelines for antibiotics should be advocated.