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. 2025 Jan 11:18:199-207.
doi: 10.2147/IDR.S500916. eCollection 2025.

Characterization of Pancreatic Infections in Patients with Severe Acute Pancreatitis: A Retrospective Study from 2019 to 2023

Yong Chen #  1 , Qichao Cui #  2 , Jin Cao  1 , Qiuyue Wu  1 , Peixuan Lu  1 , Gang Li  3 , Ning Sun  1
Affiliations

Characterization of Pancreatic Infections in Patients with Severe Acute Pancreatitis: A Retrospective Study from 2019 to 2023

Yong Chen et al. Infect Drug Resist. .

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the distribution and changes in pancreatic infections among patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) from 2019 to 2023, while exploring the impact of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections on the prognosis of patients with poor outcomes.

Methods: This study included patients diagnosed with SAP between 2019 and 2023 and collected the demographic and clinical characteristics of all participants. Based on routine clinical microbiological culture results, the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens associated with pancreatic infections were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection and poor prognosis.

Results: A total of 1586 pancreatic fluid specimens were analyzed and collected from 843 patients diagnosed with AP. The positive rate of the culture results was 81% (1280/1586), with the predominant pathogens identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecium, and Acinetobacter baumannii complex. Of the 843 patients, 756 met the criteria, and the proportion of MDROs in pancreatic infections was 87.57% (662/756). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that septic shock, acute kidney injury, and tracheostomy were associated with a poor prognosis, whereas ICU length of stay, infected pancreatic necrosis, and tracheostomy were associated with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in patients with severe or critical AP.

Conclusion: The proportion of MDRO infections in patients with severe or critical AP was notably high, primarily involving multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Septic shock, acute kidney injury, and tracheostomy have been identified as independent risk factors of poor prognosis in patients with severe or critical AP.

Keywords: microbiological profiles; multidrug-resistant organism; pancreatic infection; risk factor; severe acute pancreatitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Quantity and proportion of microbes isolated from the pancreatic fluid of SAP patients between 2019 and 2023. The percentages in the bar chart represent the detection rates in pancreatic fluid samples.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution and quantity of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Multidrug-resistant bacteria are defined as those resistant to three different classes of antibiotics. The percentages in the bar chart represent the rates of multidrug resistance.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Analysis of antibiotic resistance in predominant pathogens from 2019 to 2023. The resistance of A. baumannii complex, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and P. mirabilis to carbapenem antibiotics, imipenem and meropenem; the percentage of vancomycin resistance in E. faecium.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Multivariate logistic regression analysis of risk factors for clinical outcome (A) and multiple drug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection (B) in SAP patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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