Antibiotic susceptibility trends in bacterial isolates from wound infections

Abstract

Pyogenic infections leading to pus formation are associated with various inflammatory mediators and the proliferation of microbial flora. Wound infections can be caused by both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, viruses, fungi, or even protozoans. Timely treatment of infected patients is critical since untreated or poorly treated pyogenic infections can lead to mortality or severe complications. Successful treatment is defined by choosing the right antibiotic, which is hindered by the spreading of bacterial drug resistance. It is well documented that overuse of antimicrobials before and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the emergence of drug resistance among various microorganisms. Our study aimed to identify common etiological agents associated with wound infections and to evaluate their antibiotic resistance patterns. A cross-sectional study was conducted by analyzing the antibiograms of different aerobic bacteria isolated from wound samples of patients from the Palakkad District Hospital in Kerala, India, from 2017 through 2019. All variables, including age, sex, bacterial isolate, and antibiogram, were tabulated and the chi-square test was used for analysis. Out of the 1,269 bacterial isolates analyzed, the most common gram-negative strain was Escherichia coli (23%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20%). Among the gram-positive isolates, Staphylococcus aureus was the most common (19%). We found only 15% of Staphylococcus aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant, against the national average of 41%. The most resistant strain in our study was Acinetobacter baumannii. Statistically significant changes in antibiotic resistance patterns were observed over the three years of the study period.