Clinical Characteristics and Drug Susceptibility Profiling of Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) in hospitalized patients with PA respiratory infections and to analyze the clinical characteristics and antibiotic resistance profiles of drug-resistant PA, providing valuable insights to inform clinical management strategies.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of clinical data from hospitalized patients with PA respiratory infections was collected and analyzed to investigate the clinical features and their correlation with PA drug resistance.

Results: In the study cohort, 34.1% (n = 93) of patients were classified as having multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR-PA), while 65.9% (n = 180) were non-MDR-PA. Logistic regression identified that male gender, ICU admission, hemiplegia, and mechanical ventilation were independent risk factors for MDR-PA infection (all p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed male gender (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.15–5.17) and hemiplegia (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.02–8.82) as significant factors for MDR-PA infection. Both analyses also confirmed mechanical ventilation as an independent risk factor for difficult-to-treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa (DTR-PA) infections. MDR-PA exhibited low susceptibility to meropenem (32.3%) and imipenem (18.3%), whereas aminoglycosides showed higher effectiveness, with over 80% susceptibility against MDR-PA and more than 50% susceptibility against DTR-PA.

Conclusion: Male patients with hemiplegia should be closely monitored for MDR-PA infections when PA is detected. Mechanical ventilation necessitates vigilance against DTR-PA. Aminoglycoside-based combination therapy offers an effective empirical option for resistant PA infections. These findings indicate the need for antimicrobial stewardship or infection control measures to address MDR-PA and DTR-PA infections.