Andreea Loredana Golli, Simona Georgiana Popa, Alice Elena Ghenea, Flavia Liliana Turcu
: In this research, we aimed to analyze the trend of the antimicrobial resistance pattern of Gram-negative isolated in blood samples collected from patients with severe invasive infections hospitalized in the intensive care unit in selected periods during and after COVID-19. : A retrospective study of bacterial pathogens was performed on 481 patients admitted to the ICU between 2020 and 2023. The resistance patterns were analyzed using the Vitek 2 Compact system. . A total of 686 Gram-negative bacterial isolates were obtained. The most frequently detected Gram-negative pathogens were spp. (30.91%), spp. (24.64%), and (18.95%). Almost 50% of all the pathogens were multidrug-resistant, with a statistically significant increase post-pandemic ( < 0.05). Post-pandemic, the study highlighted a significantly higher percentage of the strains ( < 0.05), and a significant increase in the antibiotic resistance rate against colistin ( < 0.001) and tigecycline ( = 0.005). A very high percentage of MDR Acinetobacter spp. isolates was found, with a significant increase in the antibiotic resistance rate against colistin ( < 0.001). A significantly lower resistance was recorded for the strains in the case of ceftazidime ( = 0.03) and aminoglycosides (gentamicin- = 0.01, amikacin- < 0.001). An increase in the percentage of carbapenem-resistant spp., spp., and spp. strains was observed, and a significant decrease in the in the case of spp. ( = 0.01). : Our findings revealed a statistically significant increase in the resistance rate to last-line antibiotics and in the percentage of MDR Gram-negative strains isolated in the blood samples in the post-COVID-19 era.
