ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN OF COMMON BACTERIAL UROPATHOGENS, A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AT TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF BALOCHISTAN

Abstract

Objective: To assess the frequency of the bacterial agents responsible for UTIs and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns in a tertiary care hospital. Material and Methods: This Laboratory- based cross- sectional study was conducted at The Microbiology Department, Combined Military Hospital, Quetta in time duration of one year from April 2022 to March 2023. This study encompassed 512 bacterial isolates that were cultured positive from a collection of 1282 urine samples obtained from patients receiving care both in indoor and outdoor settings. The specimens were inoculated on CLED agar. Identification of isolated colonies was done by standard microbiological techniques and the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method was used for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Quality control was ensured by using reference strains, and antibiotics were tested according to the CLSI 2022 recommendations. Results: Bacterial uropathogens were identified in urine samples of 33.5% of male and 44.7% of female patients, with an overall infection rate of 39.93%. Of the 512 bacterial isolates, 91.79% were Gram-negative and 8.21% were Gram-positive. Escherichia coli was the most common isolate (69.53%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.1%), Enterococci (7.6%), Pseudomonas (2.92%), among other bacterial species. The gram-negative isolates were sensitive to Nitrofurantoin (96%), Fosfomycin (93%), Amikacin (79%), Imipenem (75%), and Meropenem (74%), while gram positive isolates were highly sensitive to Linezolid (100%), Vancomycin (95%) and Nitrofurantoin (90%). Conclusion: E. coli was the most common cause of UTIs at our hospital, followed by Klebsiella pneumonia with Nitrofurantoin and Fosfomycin being effective treatment options. Keywords: E coli, Nitrofurantoin, Uropathogens.