Study points to waning efficacy of antibiotics used in ICU patients

The efficacy of Imipenem – a wide spectrum antibiotic – in treating intestinal disease causing E coli bacteria dropped steadily from 86% in 2016 to 64% in 2021, and, in case of pneumonia-causing Klebsiella pneumoniae, dropped from 65% to 43% in the same period.

The efficacy of Imipenem – a wide spectrum antibiotic – in treating intestinal disease causing E coli bacteria dropped steadily from 86% in 2016 to 64% in 2021, and, in case of pneumonia-causing Klebsiella pneumoniae, dropped from 65% to 43% in the same period, according to a surveillance report of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released on Friday.

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The report underscores growing antibiotic resistance, spotlighting the problem of over-the-counter sale of such drugs in India, which has become a public health concern. Not just commonly-used antibiotics but also stronger antibiotics used in ICU settings such as carbapenems are also losing potency. “Resistance to carbapenems in Acinetobacter baumannii was recorded as 87.5% in the year 2021, limiting the availability of available treatment options,” the report said.

Acinetobacter baumannii causes most hospital-derived infections, involving blood, the urinary tract and lungs, among others. Among diarrhoeal pathogens (diarrheagenic E. coli, shigella spp. and salmonella), the commonly-used antibiotic, norfloxacin, was not effective, the report said. Therefore, “empirical use of norfloxacin for treatment of bacterial diarrhoea is strongly discouraged,” it said.

Among meningeal isolates of S. pneumoniae, resistance to penicillin and cefotaxime was 77% and 23%, respectively. Hence, monotherapy with either of these antibiotics is not recommended in meningeal infections, according to the report.

At least 1.2 million people died in 2019 as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to a Lancet study.