Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Resistance in septic patients in an Ecuadorian Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital Provincial General Docente of Riobamba

Abstract

Bacterial sepsis is one of the most frequent pathologies treated in an intensive care unit. It represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality at the hospital level, even more so if resistance to antibacterials used as first-line treatment is present. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Resistance in adult patients over 18 years of age in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital Provincial General Docente of Riobamba, Ecuador, in 2023. This is an original, observational, cross-sectional study. The main results are the prevalence of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Resistance of 21.9% (95% CI 6.73%-37.02%) and the prevalence of bacterial sepsis of 16% (95% CI 12.2%-19.7%). It is concluded that the prevalence of bacterial sepsis and resistance to broad-spectrum antibacterials is high in the Intensive Care Unit, where the bacteria found most frequently and confer the highest percentage of resistance to septic patients are K. pneumoniae, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa. Keywords: Drug Resistance, Microbial, sepsis; shock, septic