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Review
. 2015 May;147(5):1413-1421.
doi: 10.1378/chest.14-2171.

Antimicrobial resistance in hospital-acquired gram-negative bacterial infections

Borna Mehrad  1 , Nina M Clark  2 , George G Zhanel  3 , Joseph P Lynch 3rd  4
Affiliations
Review

Antimicrobial resistance in hospital-acquired gram-negative bacterial infections

Borna Mehrad et al. Chest. 2015 May.

Abstract

Aerobic gram-negative bacilli, including the family of Enterobacteriaceae and non-lactose fermenting bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter species, are major causes of hospital-acquired infections. The rate of antibiotic resistance among these pathogens has accelerated dramatically in recent years and has reached pandemic scale. It is no longer uncommon to encounter gram-negative infections that are untreatable using conventional antibiotics in hospitalized patients. In this review, we provide a summary of the major classes of gram-negative bacilli and their key mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance, discuss approaches to the treatment of these difficult infections, and outline methods to slow the further spread of resistance mechanisms.

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