In the midst of the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian hospitals are grappling with a silent yet deadly challenge: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). As the war escalates, the spread of multi-resistant pathogens has become a growing concern, affecting both the treatment of war injuries and the broader healthcare system.
One striking case is that of Private Oleksander Bezverkhny, a 27-year-old soldier who was evacuated to Kyiv’s Feofaniya Hospital after sustaining severe abdominal injuries and multiple shrapnel wounds. Both of his legs were amputated, but doctors soon discovered his infections were resistant to commonly-used antibiotics, making his survival highly unlikely. Despite the odds, and after enduring over 100 surgeries and a year of treatment, Bezverkhny’s condition is no longer life-threatening.
However, his case highlights a wider issue impacting Ukrainian hospitals: the rapid spread of AMR in warzones. According to Dr. Andriy Strokan, deputy chief physician at Feofaniya Hospital, over 80% of patients admitted are now suffering from infections caused by antibiotic-resistant microbes. This trend is not confined to Ukraine—AMR infections caused an estimated 1.4 million deaths globally in 2021. Yet, the ongoing war has worsened the situation in Ukraine, as overwhelmed medical facilities face higher rates of AMR due to increased patient loads and limited resources.
War injuries often require patients to pass through multiple medical facilities, each with its own bacterial strains, compounding the risk of infection. Dr. Volodymyr Dubyna, head of the ICU at Mechnikov Hospital, emphasized that the number of ICU beds has expanded from 16 to 50 in response to the surge in casualties. However, staffing shortages and the inability to maintain strict hygiene protocols in these overwhelmed conditions make controlling the spread of AMR difficult.
As medical teams work tirelessly under challenging conditions, the growing resistance to antibiotics presents an alarming dilemma: while doctors must act quickly to save lives, the overuse of "reserve" antibiotics may further accelerate bacterial resistance, rendering these treatments ineffective in the future. This is a delicate balancing act, one that healthcare professionals like Dr. Strokan and Dr. Dubyna are facing daily.
In the case of Private Bezverkhny, volunteers sourced expensive antibiotics from abroad to treat his infections, underscoring the high cost and limited availability of these crucial medicines. While his survival marks a medical victory, the broader challenge of combating AMR is far from resolved. The rise of multi-resistant bacteria in Ukraine's war hospitals is a stark reminder that the fight against antimicrobial resistance is a global issue—one that is increasingly urgent as conflict exacerbates an already critical health crisis.