Microbial resistance: lessons from the EPIC study

In 1992, a one day point prevalence study (EPIC) was conducted in European intensive care units (ICUs) to determine the prevalence of nosocomial infection among ICU patients. Of the 10,038 patients included, 45 % were infected and 21 % had a nosocomial ICU-acquired infection. Many of the organisms responsible for these infections were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. For example, 60 % of the Staphylococcus aureus isolated were resistant to methicillin and 46 % of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant to gentamicin. The incidence of nosocomial infection varied between countries as did the incidence of antibiotic resistance. Mortality rates were higher in countries with higher rates of nosocomial infection and higher again in those countries with higher rates of resistant organisms. Antibiotic resistance is rising and clearly efforts to contain its development and spread are vital. Basic infection control procedures such as hand-washing must be developed and implemented, and antibiotic prescribing needs to be rationalized. The international variations in resistance rates, even within Europe, highlight the importance of being familiar with local resistance patterns when prescribing. The assistance of an infectious diseases specialist can be invaluable in providing a global overview of the local microbial milieu and of antibiotic resistance patterns. Epidemiological studies of this sort can provide useful information which can be used to stimulate debate on the reasons behind regional differences in infection and help in the development of strategies to combat the rising tide of microbial antibiotic resistance.