BACKGROUND: Because of their underlying illnesses and high use of antibiotics among ICU patients, colonization with multidrug resistant organism is very common. This study aim to find out the antimicrobial resistance pattern in ICU.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of aerobic bacterial pathogens among ICU patients and to see their antimicrobial resistance pattern in RIMS Hospital, Imphal, Manipur.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on samples from ICU  for three years (November 2014 – October 2017).  Samples were subjected to isolation and identification by standard methods. AST was done by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method following the latest CLSI guidelines.

RESULTS:Out of 501 samples evaluated, 208 (41.5%) were culture positive for aerobic pathogenic bacteria. From the 208 culture positive samples, a total of 224 aerobic pathogens were isolated. Among gram negative, E. coli (25.89%) was the most common isolates, followed by Klebsiella spp. (18.75%) and Pseudomonas spp. (18.75%). Among gram positive, Staphylococcus aureus (9.38%) was the most common isolates followed by Enterococcus spp. (7.59%). The isolates showed high resistance to Cephalosporins. MRSA was found in 61.90% and MRCONS in 77.78%.

CONCLUSION: As ICU isolates showed high resistance to antimicrobial agents, judicious use of antimicrobial agents and regular monitoring of pattern of resistance among common pathogens is important to prevent further increase in resistance.