Acinetobacter baumannii: Epidemiological profile and antibiotic resistance in patients from the intensive care unit of Avicenne military hospital in Marrakech

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is an opportunistic bacterium that has emerged in recent decades as a major cause of potentially epidemic nosocomial infections. This bacterium has impressively developed resistance to most antibiotics, which explains the therapeutic challenges encountered.

The aim of this study is to determine, through a retrospective analysis, the epidemiological profile and antibiotic resistance of A. baumannii strains isolated from diagnostic samples collected at Avicenne Military Hospital in Marrakech (HMA), and to track their evolution over the past 3 years (2020-2023). During our study, 105 strains of Acinetobacter baumannii were isolated from various samples received in the laboratory, with a male predominance of 74%. The results show that A. baumannii was identified in 48% of cases from bronchoalveolar lavage, 13% from blood cultures, 11% from sputum, 6% from urine cultures, 5% from bronchial aspiration, 8% from venous catheter samples, 4% from pus samples, 3% from protected distal samples, and 2% from biopsies. The isolates exhibited a high level of resistance to tested beta-lactams: 88.57% for piperacillin-tazobactam, 89.52% for imipenem, and 77.14% for ceftazidime. Regarding other classes of antibiotics, 75.23% of strains were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 81.9% to amikacin, and 91.42% to ciprofloxacin.

These results confirm the multidrug-resistant nature of A. baumannii and its nosocomial character. This resistance poses a serious therapeutic and epidemiological problem, underscoring the need for a microbial environmental monitoring system in the hospital and the strict implementation of preventive measures.