Acquisition of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in the intensive care unit: just a question of time?

Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) is a Gram-negative, glucose non-fermenting, oxidase-negative cocco-bacillus, most commonly associated with a hospital setting (1). Regarding its clinical relevance, its importance since the 1980s has radically emerged. Currently, the Infectious Diseases Society of America describes it as one of the most significant hospital pathogens. It has previously been considered as a pathogen with limited virulence and ignored whenever isolated from clinical specimen, reflecting colonization more than infection.