Current status and trends of antimicrobial resistance among clinical isolates in China: a retrospective study of CHINET from 2018 to 2022

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing issue in China, with antibiotic therapy becoming less effective against bacterial infections. To address this challenge, the China Antimicrobial Surveillance Network (CHINET) was established in 2005 to monitor antimicrobial resistance in the country. This study analyzed the CHINET data from teaching hospitals and evaluated the trends of AMR in China from 2018 to 2022. A range of 163,636 to 301,917 isolates was obtained per year, with the majority being Gram-negative bacilli (69.0% to 71.8%). The proportion of important multidrug-resistant pathogens remained stable over the years. While the analysis showed diverse AMR profiles for different bacterial species. Over the five years, generally decreased resistance rates were observed from the majority of the tested species. For example, resistance to ceftriaxone decreased in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae , while resistance to imipenem and meropenem decreased in Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Moreover, resistance to methicillin, gentamicin, fosfomycin, and clindamycin also decreased in clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates. On the other hand, resistance levels of Acinetobacter baumannii remained stable. Our study provides a comprehensive overview of the AMR profiles of common bacterial species in China and highlights the ongoing efforts to address this challenge.