{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:53:16Z","timestamp":1785423196587,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1762473600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Medical University of Bialystok"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance constitutes one of the key challenges to public health. It is a particularly serious problem in the context of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). By causing infections that are difficult to treat, multiple-drug-resistant bacteria in the hospital environment often require the use of toxic and costly drugs and prolonged hospital stays, and they result in long-term health consequences for patients, including a high risk of death. This study aimed to assess the epidemiological situation of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in patients hospitalised at the University Teaching Hospital in Bialystok, Poland, between 2020 and 2023. Methods: Data from epidemiological reports covering 15 alert pathogens, including MRSA, VRE, KPC (+), and ESBL (+), were analysed. Their prevalence was assessed in three groups of wards: intensive care, surgical, and non-surgical. Infection and microbiological testing rates were referenced to the number of hospitalisations and patient-days. Results: A total of 6066 cases of infections caused by resistant microorganisms were identified. The most frequently isolated pathogen was Enterococcus faecium VRE, peaking in 2022 (11.43 per 1000 patients). A marked increase in Klebsiella spp. KPC (+) and Enterobacter spp. ESBL (+) was observed, particularly in the 2021\u20132022 period. Intensive care units showed the highest infection rate (30\u201336 per 1000 patient-days). In the 2022\u20132023 period, infections detected within &lt;72 h of admission predominated, which may indicate prior patient colonisation or intensified screening. Conclusions: The rise in infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria requires a high level of microbiological surveillance to be maintained, especially in intensive care units, and preventive measures at hospital admission to be strengthened.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics14111128","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T10:56:45Z","timestamp":1762513005000},"page":"1128","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Epidemiological Situation of Antibiotic-Resistant Microorganisms Identified in Patients Hospitalised at the University Teaching Hospital in Bialystok, Poland, in the 2020\u20132023 Period"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Monika","family":"Filipkowska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, District Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Bialystok, 15-062 Bialystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magda","family":"Orzechowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrated Medical Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-096 Bialystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mateusz","family":"Zarychta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology, 93-005 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5116-3497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mateusz","family":"Cybulski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Integrated Medical Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-096 Bialystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mib.2019.10.008","article-title":"Antibiotics: Past, present and future","volume":"51","author":"Hutchings","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr. 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