Prevalence and susceptibility profile of carbapenem-resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) at Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital, Surabaya, from January to December 2021

Introduction: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogen that frequently causes healthcare-associated infections (HAI), which has also been associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. Carbapenems have been widely utilized as empiric therapy for P. aeruginosa infections since these organisms have intrinsic resistance to various antibiotics. Therefore, the high rate of CRPA infection became the reason for conducting this study to determine the prevalence and susceptibility pattern of CRPA in Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital, Surabaya, from January to December 2021. Method: The researcher employed descriptive observational study from secondary data with the first isolate sample of P. aeruginosa per specimen per patient that has been identified by the BD PhoenixTM automated identification and susceptibility testing system from specimens of urine, blood, sterile fluid, pus, tissue, and sputum that are phenotypically resistant to meropenem or imipenem antibiotics, examined at the Clinical Microbiology Unit of Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital, Surabaya, from January to December 2021. Result: Of the total P. aeruginosa isolates, 149 CRPA isolates were obtained. The researcher conveyed that the majority of the samples were male (59.1%); the most comorbid cases were diabetes mellitus with complications (22.4%) found in the intensive care unit (40.3%); the majority of specimens were from the respiratory tract (43%); the highest antibiotic susceptibility was amikacin (62.4%); the prevalence of CRPA in Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital, Surabaya, from January to December 2021 reached 21.25%. Conclusion: In this study, CRPA isolates showed the highest sensitivity to amikacin, and the highest distribution of CRPA events was found in the intensive care unit.