| Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health threat, primarily, resulting from the excess and inappropriate use of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption trends may differ along the U.S-Mexico border from the rest of the U.S. due to geographical and cultural differences unique to the border region. The objectives of this study were: 1.) To examine the trends in antibiotic resistance among E. coli, ESBL producing E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and MRSA over a 3-year period (2013, 2014, 2015) in a U.S.-Mexico border area hospital; 2.) To examine the trends in antibiotic consumption among aztreonam, cefazolin, cefepime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and levofloxacin over a 3-year period (2013, 2014, 2015) in a U.S.-Mexico border area hospital; 3.) To determine if a correlation exists between the consumption of these antibiotics and antibiotic resistance trends seen in a U.S.-Mexico border area hospital. This study employed a retrospective analysis of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption data in a small border area hospital in El Paso, Texas to determine if a correlation existed between the two variables for the time-period of 2013-2015. The results of this study identified statistically significant increases in resistance for E. coli to aztreonam (p-value <0.0001), cefazolin (p-value <0.0001), cefepime (p-value <0.0001), ceftriaxone (p-value <0.0001), and ciprofloxacin (p-value 0.001). A statistically significant increase in resistance for MRSA to gentamicin was also identified (p-value 0.044). Statistically significant decreases in resistance were identified for ESBL producing E. coli to gentamicin (p-value 0.002) and for S. aureus to the following antibiotics: ciprofloxacin (p-value 0.023), levofloxacin (p-value 0.018), and penicillin (p-value 0.021). No correlations were identified between any of the susceptibilities of the bacterial species and the antibiotic consumption data analyzed. |
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