1371 - Trends in Antibiotic Resistance Among Uropathogens in the Pediatric Population: A Single Center Experience in the US

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common infections in children. Overuse of antibiotics has led to an increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance among uropathogens in adults; however, data on pediatric trends have not been previously reported. Our objective was to characterize antibiotic resistance trends in uropathogens among children at a tertiary care hospital in a diverse urban US city.

Methods: Positive urine culture data ( >20,000 CFU/ml) from January 1^st, 2010 through December 31^st, 2019 were obtained from the electronic medical records (inpatient and outpatient). Yearly antibiotic agent-specific resistance rates were calculated based on culture, patient, and organism level data.

Results: A total of 7,512 patients had ≥1 positive urine culture, with 13,327 positive individual cultures. The average age at sample collection was 6 yrs (IQR 2-11). Overall, 66% of cultures showed resistance to at least 1 antibiotic. Ampicillin resistance (50.1% IQR: 48.2%-52.4%) was the most common and remained stable over the study period. However, resistance against amoxicillin-sulbactam, third and fourth generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones has increased significantly over this period (Figure 1). There was also a corresponding increase in the prevalence of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) Enterobacteriaceae (Figure 2). Among infants < 1 year, a similar trend in increasing resistance against beta-lactams was noted (ampicillin-sulbactam 0% to 38%, ceftriaxone 0% to 9% and cefepime 0% to 4%, Figure 3).Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3


Conclusion: There are rising rates of antibiotic resistance to broad spectrum antibiotics, including beta-lactams and quinolones, in a pediatric population over the last 10 years, with a notable increase in resistance starting in 2015-2016. While we were not able to distinguish patients with community acquired UTI, the increase in resistance among infants < 1 year suggests a community reservoir of multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacteria. Colonization by resistant uropathogens has implications for empiric antibiotic choice, limited oral therapy options, and clinical outcomes which necessitate further study.