Prevalence of Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Infections in the United States Predominated by Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa .

BACKGROUND: Carbapenem-resistant (CR) Gram-negative pathogens are recognized as a major health concern. This study examined the prevalence of infections due to 4 CR Gram-negative species ( Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli ) in the United States and assessed their impact on hospital stays and mortality.

METHODS: Hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed infection due to any of the 4 Gram-negative pathogens were identified from the Premier Healthcare Database. Proportions of CR were calculated by pathogen and infection site (blood, respiratory, urinary, or other) for the United States as whole and by census regions. Crude and adjusted odds ratios for in-hospital mortality were produced using logistic regression.

RESULTS: From 2009 to 2013, 13 262 (4.5%) of 292 742 infections due to these 4 Gram-negative pathogens were CR. Of these CR infections, 82.3% were caused by A. baumannii (22%) or P. aeruginosa (60.3%), while 17.7% were caused by K. pneumoniae or E. coli . CR patients had longer hospital stays than carbapenem-susceptible (CS) patients in all pathogen-infection site cohorts, except in the A. baumannii -respiratory cohort. The crude all cause in-hospital mortality was greater for most pathogen-infection site cohorts of the CR group compared with the CS group, especially for A. baumannii infection in the blood (crude odds ratio [OR], 3.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.69-5.70). This difference for the A. baumannii -blood cohort remained after adjusting for the relevant covariates (adjusted OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.43-4.22).

CONCLUSION: The majority of CR infections and disease burden in the United States was caused by nonfermenters A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa . Patients with CR infections had longer hospital stays and higher crude in-hospital mortality.