Pseudomonas aeruginosa multiresistente em unidade de cuidados intensivos: desafios que procedem?

objectives: to evaluate the occurrence of multi-resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa infection among patients from an intensive care unit. methods: this retrospective study was conducted in an emergency hospital. data were collected from october 2003 to september 2004. results: sixty-eight patients were infected with multi-resistant bacteria. ten of these patients (14.7%) were infected with pseudomonas aeruginosa. among these with pseudomonas aeruginosa, 8 patients were male and they had a mean age of 57 years and a mean of hospitalization of 43.7 days. strains of pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated in blood (n =8), in urine (n = 5), in venous catheter port (n = 2), and in cerebrospinal fluid (n =1). seven of these strains were sensitive to polymyxin b and 3 strains were sensitive to imipenem. conclusions: since patients' microbiological profile is specific to a unit or institution, it should be assessed periodically and addressed with specific interventions.