Limitations

Because this was a single-center study, the findings may not be generalized to other settings or geographic regions. Also, by focusing on patients who had been hospitalized, community-acquired infections were excluded, thus potentially underestimating the true prevalence of CRE [19]. Our study characterizes the prevalence of CRE and the main types of carbapenemase genes, but data collection did not include information regarding patient outcomes like the length of hospital stay, admission to an ICU, and mortality rate. Future studies should include such outcomes to more accurately convey the burden of CRE and help shape strategies for infection control and antibiotic use.