Semaa M al radhwan¹, Eman barnawi^1,, Atef M. shibl², Omar Alharbi¹, Majed Al mograbi¹, Ateeq al garni¹, Nasser Al-shanbari¹

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) and Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia) are accused of high prevalence and ability to cause outbreaks in healthcare settings. The current work aimed to analyze one of the major K. pneumonia and A. baumannii outbreaks at a secondary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia including the identification of patients’ infectivity and mortality risk factors, antibiotic susceptibility test results of the bacterial isolates, and infection control measures employed to halt the outbreak. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to August 2022. Data were collected from the General Directorate of Infection Prevention and Control, Saudi Ministry of Health, and analysed using SPSS version 27. Results: 50 cases were affected by the outbreak, either infected with K. pneumonia or A. baumannii or co-infected with both organisms. Risk factors for particular infection among affected patients were the underlying diseases (p=0.026), length of pre-infection stay (p=0.004), and ICU stay (p=0.015). A. baumannii-infected patients have higher mortality rates (70.0%). K. pneumonia and A. baumannii demonstrate low sensitivity to 4 tested antibiotics including Amikacin, Gentamicin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and Tigecycline, the last resort antibiotic treatment. Conclusion: K. pneumonia and A. baumannii outbreaks were associated with a preventable clinical and financial burden. Active screening of healthcare-associated infections is crucial for early detection, successful management of infection, and prevention of outbreak occurrence. Infection control measures played a significant role in controlling the outbreak.

Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumonia, outbreak, infection control, mortality