Background: The aim of this study was to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of microorganisms causing nosocomial infections in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the Children's Medical Center in Tehran.
Methods: All patients with nosocomial infections in the PICU were enrolled in the study. Causative microoraganisms were coagulase positive, and coagulase negative
Staphylococci
and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
. MIC of many antibiotics was determined by microbroth dilution according to NCCLS.
Findings: Within a period of 18 months, thirty patients developed nosocomial infection including 17 cases with
P.aeruginosa and 9 individuals with
Staph aureus infection. The remaining 4 patients were involved with coagulase negative Staphylococci. The most common sources were respiratory tract, blood stream, wound and soft tissue. Multi-antimicrobial resistance (resistance to Amikacin, Ceftazidim, Imipenem and Ciprofloxacin) was common among
P. aeruginosa species All strains of Staph aureus were resistant to Methicillin (MRSA). These microorganisms were also resistant to clindamycin and ciprofloxacin in 88% of cases.
Conclusion: Resistance to antimicrobial agents was high in our study, therefore routine MIC examination is necessary in PICU.
