Revista de agentes antimicrobianos

A Brief Report of Environmental Contamination with Gram-Negative Bacteria at Front-Line Hospitals in Northern Syria

Abstract

Fariba Nayeri

Daily operations on wounded soldiers are performed at front-line hospitals. Because diagnostic procedures are not easily available during war and antibiotics are given to patients with suspected infection, it is crucial to assess the resistance patterns of pathogens that colonize the environment at hospitals in order to establish routines and guidelines to decrease antibiotic misuse. In this study, we assessed the source of postsurgical infection caused by multiple resistant gram-negative bacteria by performing culture tests in water samples taken from wastewater, a sink in the operation room, and soap at intensive care units from five military hospitals in northern Syria. Although it was not possible to further characterize the bacteria found on the agarose dishes, cultures taken from moist environments at intensive care units grew colonies of gram-negative bacteria resistant to several available antimicrobial agents. In conclusion, we found that colonized bacteria in pipes, wastewater, soap, or bottles containing disinfectants may be sources of nosocomial infection in postoperative patients. Environmental assessment and regular controls are needed to yield valuable information regarding contamination and the susceptibility of bacteria to antimicrobial agents.