Respiratory tract infections are very common in critically ill patients in hospital settings. Endotracheal aspiration is a simple and easy method to perform especially in ICU patients for obtaining samples from lower respiratory tract. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the microbiological spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility profile of Endotracheal aspirates among patients admitted in our institute. The present study was conducted on 348 ETT aspirate samples received in the Department of Microbiology, GMC, Jammu for a period of 1 year i.e. April 2017- 2018. Bacteria were identified using standard bacteriological and biochemical methods. 285 (81.89%) samples were culture positive. The most commonly isolated bacteria were Acinetobacter, followed by Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus aureus. Meropenem, Amikacin and Tobramycin showed good sensitivity against GNB. Colistin, Polymyxin-B, Cefepime-tazobactam were highly effective against Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas isolates. Multi- drug resistant microorganisms are on a rise in our hospital. Strict implementation of antibiotic policy and creating awareness through education programmes can help in combating rapid spread of drug resistance.

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