Bacteriological Profile and Antibiotic Sensitivity Patterns in Clinical Isolates from the Out-Patient Departments of...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rising global public health threat. Knowledge of the circulating pathogens in a particular area and their antibiotic resistance profile is essential to direct clinicians on rational antibiotic prescribing.

The study was conducted to determine the microbial isolates and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of pathogens from a range of clinical samples in a tertiary hospital in Edo Central Senatorial District in Edo State, Nigeria.

The study was a retrospective analysis of microbiological isolates from clinical specimens collected between January 2016 and December 2019, using standard techniques from outpatient clinic attendees. Chi-square test was used to compare the association of the type of bacterial isolates with patients' sex and level of significance P set as < 0.05. Prevalence rates of bacterial isolates and resistance rates were calculated for each antibiotic used in the microbiological culture.

Of the 3,247 clinical specimens processed, 994 (30.6%) showed microbial growth with 436 (43.9%) as gram-positive and 558 (56.1%) as gram-negative bacterial isolates. Escherichia coli (E. coli) made up 286 (28.8%) of all the isolates. Resistance to cotrimoxazole, tetracycline and cloxacilin for gram-poisitive pathogens was 93.1%, 86.4% and 72.5% respectively. For gram-negative pathogens, resistance to amoxycilin, cloxacilin and erythromycin was 100%, 96.9% and 95.6% respectively. Sensitivity to carbapenems, nitrofurantoin, and cefixime was high for gram-negative bacteria (100.0 %,76.8 % and 82.5 % respectively). Gram-positive bacteria exhibited high sensitivity to carbapenems ceftriaxone and cefixime.

High rates of resistance to common antibiotics were observed for gram-positive and gram-negative isolates. Hospital pharmacies and treatment guidelines should be made to reflect the current patterns of resistance to available antibiotics.