TY - JOUR AU - Bassetti, Matteo AU - Pecori, Davide AU - Peghin, Maddalena PY - 2016/12/15 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria-resistant infections: epidemiology, clinical issues and therapeutic options JF - Italian Journal of Medicine JA - Ital J Med VL - 10 IS - 4 SE - Reviews DO - 10.4081/itjm.2016.802 UR - https://www.italjmed.org/ijm/article/view/itjm.2016.802 SP - 364-375 AB - In the last decade, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of multidrug resistant Gram-negative (MDRGN) bacterial pathogens, both in Italy and worldwide, with <em>Enterobacteriacae</em> (mostly <em>Klebsiella</em> <em>pneumoniae</em>), <em>Pseudomonas</em> <em>aeruginosa</em> and <em>Acinetobacter</em> <em>baumannii</em> being the major threats in clinical practice. Inadequate empirical antimicrobial therapy of severe infections caused by MDR <em>Enterobacteriacae</em> has been associated with an increased morbidity and mortality. However, a careful selection of patients who may receive empirical treatment covering MDR <em>Enterobacteriacae</em> is important to avoid the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The aim of this review is to describe the mechanism of resistance, epidemiology, risk factors, clinical issues, and therapeutic options for MDRGN pathogens. ER -