Abstract:Objective To compare infection sites and antimicrobial resistance patterns of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in intensive care units (ICUs) and general wards.Methods A total of 84 patients with CRAB infections admitted to Taizhou Second People's Hospital between January 2020 and January 2025 were selected and divided into an ICU group (49 cases) and a general ward group (35 cases). Through bacterial strain isolation and identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and resistance gene detection, the infection sites, resistance characteristics, and resistance gene phenotypes of CRAB were compared between the two groups.Results Respiratory tract infections predominated in both groups; however, the proportion of respiratory tract infections was higher in the ICU group than in the general ward group, whereas the proportions of urinary tract and surgical site infections were both lower in the ICU group (P < 0.05). In the ICU group, the resistance rates to ampicillin/sulbactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, cefepime and amikacin were higher than in the general ward group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the distribution of resistance genes between the ICU and general ward groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion CRAB infections in both the ICU and general wards were predominantly respiratory in nature, but CRAB strains in the ICU exhibited a broader spectrum of resistance.