ICMR Study Finds Drug-Resistant Infections Cost More Lives and Money in India

A new study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found that patients infected with drug-resistant bacteria face significantly higher death rates, longer hospital stays and higher treatment costs than those with drug-sensitive infections. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia, analysed nearly 1.6 lakh hospitalised patients across 20 tertiary-care hospitals in India between April 2022 and April 2025.

Researchers focused on four Gram-negative bacteria: E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of 26,213 patients with confirmed infections from these bacteria, 61.1% were resistant to carbapenems, a class of antibiotics normally used as a last resort. Mortality was consistently higher among patients with carbapenem-resistant infections: 31.2% versus 23.5% for Klebsiella pneumoniae, 24.4% versus 17.3% for E. coli, 37.9% versus 32.8% for Acinetobacter baumannii, and 28.9% versus 20.2% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Treatment costs were 1.1 to 2 times higher for resistant infections. Treating resistant E. coli cost an average of $420 per patient compared with $211 for susceptible infections; the equivalent figures were $587 versus $505 for K. pneumoniae, $655 versus $436 for A. baumannii, and $702 versus $510 for P. aeruginosa. Patients with resistant E. coli infections also stayed in hospital for 23.1 days on average, compared with 17.8 days for susceptible infections.

Dr Kamini Walia, a senior scientist at ICMR and an author of the study, said antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is "no longer a distant threat - it is already costing Indian lives," adding that carbapenem-resistant infections carry substantially higher mortality and treatment costs. She said the solution is not simply developing stronger antibiotics but "better infection prevention, timely diagnostics and responsible antibiotic use." ICMR has tracked AMR through its Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance and Research Network since 2013, and its current priorities include expanding rapid diagnostics and developing alternative treatments such as bacteriophages and monoclonal antibodies.