MULTIDRUG RESISTANCE IN PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA: A GENERAL OVERVIEW

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a gram-negative bacillus, is a multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogen posing a threat to hospitalised patients and contributes to their morbidity and mortality. This organism shows a remarkable capacity to resist antibiotics, either intrinsically (because of constitutive expression of β-lactamases and efflux pumps, combined with low permeability of the outer-membrane) or following acquisition of resistance genes (e.g., genes for β-lactamases, or enzymes inactivating aminoglycosides or modifying their target), over-expression of efflux pumps, decreased expression of porins, or mutations in quinolone targets. There has been an accelerated increase in multidrug resistant strains of this organism while the available therapeutic options are severely limited. There is a need for new agents that can overcome the multidrug resistance of these organisms when the available therapeutic options become restricted. This review discusses about various mechanisms of multidrug resistance and possible novel therapeutics introduced from time to time.