Bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in catheter related nosocomial infections

This prospective study was carried out over a period of 6 months in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The aim of the study was to determine the organisms causing catheter related nosocomial infections in the PICU and to study their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. Patients with endotracheal intubation, indwelling urinary catheters and central venous catheters (CVC)/venous cutdown catheters were included in the study. Colonization of the endotracheal tube, urinary catheter related infections (UCRI) and colonization of the CVC/venous cutdown catheters was studied. E. coli was the commonest organism colonizing the endotracheal tube tip with maximum susceptibility to cefotaxime and amikacin. E. coli was also was the commonest organism causing UCRI with maximum susceptibility to nitrofurantoin and amikacin. Acinetobacter was the commonest organism colonizing the CVC/venous cutdown catheters with maximum susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. All these sites of catheter related infections considered together, E. coli and Klebsiella were the commonest nosocomial organisms. Both had maximum susceptibility to amikacin. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated only from one culture. All the organisms had a poor susceptibility to cefazolin and amoxycillin. A knowledge of the resident microbial flora and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern is necessary for formulating a rational antibiotic policy in an ICU.