Antibiotic Resistance in Pathogenic Microorganisms: Implications for Management on Healthcare in the 21st Century

Abstract

The menace of antibiotic resistance is of great concern globally making healthcare delivery much more challenging in the 21st century leading to a global health crisis. The study made use of a systematic (qualitative) review of peer-reviewed literature from 2016 to 2025, following the PRISMA-guided reviews by Gregory and Denniss with some modification. The findings showed that there is widespread resistance in pathogenic bacteria globally, in Africa, and in Nigeria, and middle to low-income countries are the most vulnerable. Several factors, such as misuse and overuse of antibiotics, over-the-counter antibiotic sales, growth-promoting and preventive use of antibiotics on healthy animals, and lack of or inadequate antibiotic resistance awareness, are responsible for the propagation of resistance. The result also identified bacteria species such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Enterococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Salmonella as the leading cause of antibiotic-resistant deaths. With this, last-line antibiotics such as the third generation and broad-spectrum cephalosporin, extended-spectrum ³-lactam antibiotics, vancomycin, colistin, methicillin, penicillin, carbapenems, and ampicillin are becoming substandard. Despite this, fewer novel antibiotics are entering the market to mitigate the situation. This study, therefore, concluded that antibiotic resistance represents a silent pandemic that demands urgent attention, and without effective action, the world may face a future where minor infections become untreatable. The study recommended that the government should embrace international collaboration because antimicrobial resistance is a transnational issue.