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ICU infections show alarming antibiotic resistance in Pune hospital study
A hospital-based study from BJMC-SGH in Pune, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, analyzed 247 Gram-negative ICU isolates collected from 2023 to 2024 and found widespread antimicrobial resistance, including high carbapenem resistance and notable resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam. The study highlights ICUs as infection hotspots and calls for strengthened stewardship and surveillance, with the findings published in March 2026 and reported on April 19, 2026.
Why It Matters
Rising antimicrobial resistance in ICU pathogens could limit treatment options and increase mortality, underscoring the need for hospital-level AMR surveillance, stewardship, and infection prevention.
Timeline
5 Events
WHO warnings and calls for action
April 19, 2026
The article notes alignment with WHO warnings about a potential post-antibiotic era if antimicrobial resistance is unchecked, and calls for hospital-level AMR surveillance, regular updates of local data, and targeted infection control strategies.
Key findings summarized in the article
April 19, 2026
The article notes Klebsiella pneumoniae as the most common pathogen (27.5%), followed by Escherichia coli (20.6%). Other isolates included Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter, and Citrobacter, with Klebsiella pneumoniae especially dominant in medical ICUs. Widespread resistance spans penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems; carbapenem resistance neared 70%, while susceptibility to other drugs remained low and some isolates showed resistance to colistin. About 78% of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were resistant to ceftazidime-avibactam. ICUs were described as the epicentre of infections, with rates two to five times higher than general wards.
Study published in National Journal of Laboratory Medicine
March 2026
The study titled "Antimicrobial Resistance in Gram-negative Pathogens Isolated from Blood Cultures of Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Hospital-based Cross-sectional Study" was published in the National Journal of Laboratory Medicine. It involved BJMC–SGH in Pune and Johns Hopkins University and reported on pathogen distribution and antimicrobial resistance patterns.
Data collection period ends
December 2024
Isolates were collected from January 2023 through December 2024, marking the data collection period end for the study.
Data collection for ICU blood culture isolates begins
January 2023
The hospital-based cross-sectional study began collecting gram-negative bacterial isolates from ICU blood cultures in January 2023 as part of the dataset analyzed for the study.