Antimicrobial Sensitivity and Distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Cantonal Hospital of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is one of the most common nosocomial pathogens that occurs in the human population. In 2017, PA was recognised as one of the most life- threatening bacteria microorganisms. Infections caused by PA isolates are exceedingly difficult to treat due to intrinsic antibiotic resistance and an incredible capability to gain resistance to multiple groups of antimicrobial agents. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of PA isolates in inpatient and outpatient samples, to determine the incidence of PA isolates in different hospital wards and to analyse the sensitivity of PA isolates to the tested antimicrobial drugs. The study included a collection of 152 biological samples and 6 swabs of inhumane material inside the hospital obtained and processed in the Microbiological laboratory of the Cantonal Hospital in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), over a period of 3 months from October to December 2018. The samples which were positive for PA were 31.58% of hospital population, and 68.42% were outpatient population. The largest number was taken from the surgical ward (60.42%), while urine was the most frequent sample with 47.92%. PA showed susceptibility to amikacin 89.6%, imipenem 83.3%, piperacillin tazobactam 81.3%, ceftazidime 79.2%, cefepime 68.8%, gentamicin 62.5% and ciprofloxacin 60.4%. In most cases PA was isolated from outpatient samples. PA showed the highest susceptibility rate to amikacin, while it showed the greatest resistance to ciprofloxacin. The largest number of samples in the hospital environment originated from the surgical department.