English

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is inadequate information from India on various lower respiratory tract pathogens and their resistance pattern in hospital settings. The present study was undertaken to see the bacteriological profile and the antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates causing LRTI from this geographic region. OBJECTIVE: To identify and characterize bacterial pathogens causing community acquired and hospital acquired infections with reference to antibiogram pattern. METHODS: A total of 137 samples from patients suffering from lower respiratory tract infections were studied. All the sputum samples were subjected to gram staining, culture. Various organisms were identified by standard methods. The Kirby –Bauer method was employed to perform the antibiotic sensitivity on Mueller Hinton agar [MHA]. For Streptococcus pneumoniae blood agar was used. MHA with 4% NaCl was used to detect methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA]. RESULTS: Growth of pathogens was obtained in 66.4% of sputum samples in case of inpatients and in 33.5% outpatients. Klebsiella pneumonia [15.3%] was the predominant isolate among the inpatients whereas Streptococcus pneumonia [8.5%] was the most common pathogen isolated from outpatients. Haemophilus influenzae was not isolated. Quinolone was found to be most effective antibiotic against gram negative organisms. A single isolate of Moraxella catarrhalis was isolated from a case of MDR-TB. CONCLUSION: Culture and susceptibility reports should be encouraged before therapy to combat the problem of emergence of MDR, ESBL and MRSA strains and to subside the economic burden due to increase in cost according to the consequence of development of antibiotic resistant microbial strains.