Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of urinary tract pathogens.

Area of Science:

• Clinical Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Microbial drug resistance poses a significant global challenge in treating infectious diseases.
• Understanding local bacterial prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility is crucial for effective treatment strategies.
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, necessitating up-to-date data on causative agents and resistance patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of bacterial agents causing urinary infections.
• To assess the antimicrobial sensitivity patterns of these agents.
• To provide data for guiding empirical antibiotic treatment in Urmia Medical University, Iran.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of urine cultures from patients between 2005 and 2006.
• Inclusion criteria: single bacterial species with > 100,000 CFU/mL.
• Statistical analysis using chi-square tests for susceptibility rates, stratified by age and gender.

Main Results:

• A total of 803 positive urine cultures were analyzed; 81.6% from females and 18.4% from males.
• Escherichia coli was the predominant pathogen (78.58%), followed by Klebsiella, Proteus, and Staphylococcus.
• E. coli showed high sensitivity to cephtizoxin (89%), gentamycin (83.9%), and ciprofloxacin (83.2%), but high resistance to ampicillin and co-trimoxazole.

Conclusions:

• This survey provides essential bacteriologic and antibiotic sensitivity profiles for urinary infections at Urmia Medical University.
• The findings can inform empirical antibiotic therapy choices for UTIs, pending culture results.
• Regular surveillance is vital to monitor evolving resistance patterns and optimize treatment guidelines.