Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of multi-drug resistance isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae among the patients at Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital (NAAFH) of the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. This retrospective, chart review observational study was conducted from February 1, 2016 to February 29, 2016 at Northern Area Armed Forces Hospital (NAAFH), a 330-bed community general hospital located in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. A total of 870 isolates were identified in 298 patients (3 isolates per patient involving multiple sites). It was observed that the risk of females being infected or colonized with K. pneumoniae was higher than males; the K. pneumoniae was more frequently encountered in hospitalized patient compared to outpatients; a greater number of isolates were obtained from medical service; and the K. pneumoniae was more likely to be isolated from the genitourinary system. Prevalence of multi-drug resistance of K. pneumoniae to antibacterial agents showed that 41% isolates were resistant to third generation cephalosporin primarily due to production of ESBLs, but this was considered statistically insignificant (RR 1.18; 95% CI, 0.96 to 1.47; p = 0.131). The K. pneumoniae producing carbapenemase (KPC) were significantly prominent in this series (RR 0.32; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.43; p < 0.001). The rapid growth of the K. pneumoniae species that are resistant to carbapenem, a class of drugs considered the last-line of defense, is a matter of concern.