Antibiotic-resistant infections kill more patients and cost more, finds major India study

A comprehensive study of hospitalized patients across India has revealed that infections caused by antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria are more fatal and expensive to treat compared to drug-susceptible strains. These bacteria, which can cause infections in various body parts like lungs, urinary tract, wounds, and bloodstream, include common hospital pathogens such as E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

When these bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, particularly carbapenems, fewer effective medicines become available for patient treatment. Conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research’s antimicrobial resistance surveillance network, the research examined four major Gram-negative bacteria and compared patients infected with carbapenem-resistant bacteria to those infected by susceptible strains in tertiary hospitals.

The study found that carbapenem-resistant infections were associated with higher mortality rates across all four bacteria, with risks ranging from 16% to 43% higher than susceptible infections. Bloodstream infections were particularly deadly, with mortality rates from 23.8% to 50.8% among carbapenem-resistant infections compared to 23.8% to 36% among susceptible infections.

Moreover, antibiotic treatment for resistant infections was about 1.1 to two times more expensive than for susceptible infections, with costs ranging from approximately ₹20,034 to ₹66,599 per patient.