Empiric Antibiotic Therapy in the Treatment of Community-acquired Pneumonia in a General Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Prevalence and Etiology of Community- and Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia in Saudi Arabia and Their Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns: A Systematic Review

(1) Background and Objectives: Pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, including in Saudi Arabia, and the prevalence and etiology of the disease varies depending on the setting. The development of effective strategies can help reduce the adverse impact of this disease. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to explore the prevalence and etiology of community-acquired and hospital-acquired pneumonia in Saudi Arabia, as well as their antimicrobial susceptibility. (2) Materials and Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 recommendations were followed for this systematic review. Several databases were used to perform a thorough literature search, and papers were then assessed for eligibility by two independent reviewers. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to extract the data from the relevant research and evaluate its quality. (3) Results: This systematic review included 28 studies that highlighted the fact that gram-negative bacteria, particularly Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were the common cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia, while Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. were responsible for community-acquired pneumonia in children. The study also found that bacterial isolates responsible for pneumonia showed high resistance rates against several antibiotics, including cephalosporins and carbapenems. (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, the study found that different bacteria are responsible for community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. Antibiotic resistance rates were high for several commonly used antibiotics, highlighting the need for rational antibiotic use to prevent further resistance. Moreover, there is a need to conduct more regular multicenter studies to assess etiology, resistance, and susceptibility patterns of pneumonia-causing pathogens in Saudi Arabia.

Characteristics of patients infected with Clostridioides difficile at a Saudi Tertiary Academic Medical Center and assessment of antibiotic duration

BACKGROUND

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a common hospital-associated diarrhea. Several antibiotics commonly associate with CDI; however, limited data are available on the duration of exposure prior to CDI. Moreover, studies on the characteristics of CDI patients in Saudi Arabia are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize CDI patients identified over 10 years and assess antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) prior to CDI.

METHODS

This was a retrospective descriptive analysis of CDI patients at a Saudi tertiary academic medical center between December 2007 and January 2018. Patients characteristics, prior exposure to known CDI risk factors, and DOT of antibiotics prior to CDI incidence were assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 159 patients were included. Median age was 62 years. Most cases were hospital-acquired (71.1%), non-severe (44.7%), and admitted to medical wards (81.1%). Prior exposure to antibiotics and acid suppression therapy were reported with the majority (76.1 and 75.5%, respectively). The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftriaxone, meropenem, and ciprofloxacin with median DOTs prior to CDI incidence of 14 days for the β-lactams and 26 days for ciprofloxacin. The distribution of DOT was significantly different for piperacillin/tazobactam in different units (P = 0.003) where its median DOT was the shortest in medical wards (11 days), and for ciprofloxacin among different severity groups (P = 0.013), where its median DOT was the shortest in severe CDI patients (11 days).

CONCLUSION

Most patients in this study had hospital-acquired non-severe CDI and were largely exposed to antibiotics and acid suppression therapy. Therefore, such therapies should be revised for necessity.