Trends in the Bacterial Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in the Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Hospitalized Patients in South India

Exacerbation due to antimicrobial-drug-resistant bacteria among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients contributes to mortality and morbidity. We examined the prevalence of the bacterial organisms and trends in drug resistance in AECOPD. In this retrospective study, between January 2016 to December 2020, among 3027 AECOPD patients, 432 (14.3%) had bacteria isolated. The regression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used for trends in the resistance patterns over five years, adjusting for age, gender, and comorbidities. Klebsiella pneumoniae (32.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17.8%), Acinetobacter baumannii (14.4%), Escherichia coli (10.4%), and Staphylococcus aureus (2.5%) were common. We observed high levels of drug resistance in AECOPD patients admitted to ICU (87.8%) and non-ICU (86.5%). A Cox proportional hazard analysis, observed infection with Acinetobacter baumannii and female sex as independent predictors of mortality. Acinetobacter baumannii had 2.64 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08–6.43) higher odds of death, compared to Klebsiella pneumoniae. Females had 2.89 (95% CI: 1.47–5.70) higher odds of death, compared to males. A high proportion of bacterial AECOPD was due to drug-resistant bacteria. An increasing trend in drug resistance was observed among females.