Analysis of carbapenem-resistant strains isolated in a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, during the years 2016 and 2020.

The impact of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on global health was immense in 2022, with a reported 4.95 million deaths in 2019 linked to, and 1.2 million deaths directly caused by, AMR [ [1] Antimicrobial Resistance CollaboratorsGlobal burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2022; 399: 629-655 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2717) Google Scholar ]. Three-quarters of these fatalities were caused by six bacterial species that have been designated as priority pathogens by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO, the most important group includes multidrug-resistant bacteria that pose a particular threat in hospitals, nursing homes, and among patients whose care requires devices such as ventilators and intravascular catheters. These bacteria include Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and various Enterobacterales (including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, and Proteus mirabilis).