Objective: Intensive care units (ICUs) are centers where critically patients are followed up with specialized devices and medical supports. Nosocomial infections in patients followed up in intensive care units are seen as a global problem due to the increase in morbidity and mortality rates, as well as causing serious financial losses. It is known that Enterobacteriaceae species, such as Escherichia coli, are among the most frequently isolated pathogens in ICUs. Among these bacteria, the proportional dominance of E.coli is remarkable.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was done using the E.coli isolates obtained from the blood cultures of 219 patients referred from the intensive care units to laboratory between January 2018 and December 2022.

Results: E. coli growth was detected in 219 of 1976 patients hospitalized in ICUs between 2018-2022. E. coli isolated patients were 48% female and 52% male, and the mean age was 70.42(19-98). Among the antibiotic resistance rates of E.coli isolates, the highest rate was found in ampicillin for all years.

Conclusion: It was observed that antibiotic resistance tended to increase in some years, followed by declines and elevations. This indicates that bacteremia is caused by the outbreaks due to hospital-acquired resistant strains. It is obvious that if we could fight against these epidemics by taking necessary precautions, such as infection control and effective cleaning, we could indeed control the spread of the resistance. Each hospital should develop its own data to determine rational antibiotic use policies, and clinicians should cooperate with medical microbiologists in these circumstances.