Services on Demand
Journal
Article
Spanish (pdf)
Article in xml format
Article references
Automatic translation
Send this article by e-mailIndicators
Cited by SciELO
Related links
Similars in
SciELO
Share
Permalink
Revista del Instituto de Medicina Tropical
Print version ISSN 1996-3696
Abstract
MELGAREJO TOUCHET, Nancy L. and GRUPO RAM PARAGUAY et al. Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles in clinically important bacteria: results from the National Network for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance. Paraguay, 2024. Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. [online]. 2026, vol.21, n.1, pp.1-16. Epub June 30, 2026. ISSN 1996-3696. https://doi.org/10.18004/imt/2026.21.1.1.
Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) constitutes one of the primary threats to global public health. Surveillance systems enable the monitoring of bacterial resistance trends, guiding therapeutic policies and infection prevention and control strategies. Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of clinically significant bacteria in Paraguay during 2024. Materials and methods: A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted on 3,745 isolates from 30 laboratories within the National AMR Surveillance Network. Isolates were identified and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) at participating laboratories; results were consolidated and analyzed using WHONET software at the Central Laboratory of Public Health. Susceptibility profiles were interpreted according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) criteria. Results: Acinetobacter baumannii exhibited the highest levels of resistance. Klebsiella pneumoniae showed resistance to imipenem (36.9%) and meropenem (35.1%), while maintaining a 91.8% sensitivity to tigecycline. In both hospital and community isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, resistance to erythromycin was 65.7% and 64.5%, respectively, and 17.6% and 16.4% for clindamycin. Enterococcus faecium demonstrated a 92.5% resistance to vancomycin. Escherichia coli showed sensitivity greater than 90% to carbapenems and colistin. Conclusions: AMR is widely distributed in Paraguay across both hospital and community settings. Our findings highlight challenges that demand the strengthening of national surveillance, therapeutic optimization, and rigor in infection prevention and control measures.
Keywords : Antimicrobial resistance; Paraguay; Surveillance; WHONET; Acinetobacter baumannii; Staphylococcus aureus; Escherichia coli; Klebsiella pneumoniae.
