Surveillance Study - Incidence of Antibiotic Resistance in Serial Gram-negative Bloodstream Isolates
Surveillance Study - Incidence of Antibiotic Resistance in Serial Gram-negative Bloodstream Isolates
This research is important because it allows for the determination of resistance rates to
 antibiotics that may not be frequently tested by the clinical microbiology laboratory at
 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)-Presbyterian. It also will provide antibiotic
 minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for these pathogens which may help in identifying
 the best empiric antibiotic option for gram-negative blood stream infections based on known
 pharmacodynamic parameters.
Bacterial cultures will be ordered in the normal clinical course of the management of
 patients in the liver transplant ICU by the medical team. These cultures are then processed
 by the clinical Microbiology laboratory in the normal manner. If these cultures grow a
 Gram-negative bacteria, they are eligible for this study. Typically the clinical Microbiology
 laboratory saves these bacteria for a period of time after the final microbiology report. At
 this time, unless asked otherwise, the bacteria will be placed in biohazardous waste
 containers for proper disposal. If these cultures have grown a Gram-negative bacteria, they
 are eligible for this study, and will not be disposed of but will be given to the
 investigators without identifiers for this study. The antibiotic susceptibility of these
 organisms will be tested by the investigators in a separate research laboratory. Mechanisms
 of antibiotic resistance may also be assessed.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients with positive gram-negative bacteria

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Less than 18 years of age