ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the aetiological distribution and drug resistance of pathogens in hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to enable a reasonable anti-infective treatment therapy and timely and effective control of the disease.
Methods: Data from a retrospective study of 245 patients who were admitted to the respiratory ward of Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University (Beijing, China) were analysed. Those patients diagnosed with acute exacerbation (AE) of COPD were enrolled in the study from October 2010 to October 2013. Among them, 58 patients tested positive for bacteria, and 86 positive sputum samples were identified and tested for pathogen susceptibility to drugs using Vitek-II. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) was detected and analysed for bacterial identification and susceptibility to drugs; the process of ESBL testing was completed automatically by Vitek-II.
Results: Eight-six bacteria were isolated comprising 54 Gram-negative bacilli (62.79%), nine Gram-positive cocci (10.47%), and 23 fungi (26.74%). Among them, 88.9% were methicillin-resistant Gram-positive cocci, while ESBLs of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli were 5.56% each. Patients with poor lung function were more susceptible to drug-resistant bacteria.
Conclusions: Patients hospitalized with AECOPD were infected mainly with Gram-negative bacilli and with a higher rate of resistant strains of infection; however, because the pathogens had some regional distribution, a drug should be chosen for treatment based on their local distribution.