Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Bacteria Causing Aerobic Vaginitis in Women in Iraq

Aerobic vaginitis (AV) is a vaginal infectious condition characterized by abnormal vaginal discharge, high inflammatory response, signs of epithelial atrophy, an increase in aerobic bacteria of intestinal origin and a decrease in the normal flora, especially Lactobacillus spp.. It is one of the most common reproductive tract infections among women. This study aimed to analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility levels of the dominant bacterial species found in the vaginae of women infected with AV. A total of 89 high vaginal swabs (HVS) were collected from women aged (18-50) years old attending some hospitals and private gynaecology clinics in Baghdad City. All obtained swabs were cultured on different culture media, and the primary diagnosis was performed according to standard laboratory diagnosis protocols. To confirm the diagnosis and to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacterial isolates, VITEK 2 Compact Automated System GP and GN colourimetric identification cards and AST GN and AST GP cards were used according to Manufacturer Company constructions (BioMérieux / France). Out of 89swabs, ninety-five pathogenic strains were obtained, including 62 isolates (65.2%), Grampositive and 33 isolates (34.7%), Gram-negative bacteria. Staphylococcus spp. (46.3%) The most represented active strain was Escherichia coli (15.7%). All Gram-positive bacterial strains displayed the highest resistance rates (100%) toward penicillins and cephalosporins, while the highest sensitivity rates were toward daptomycin, followed by vancomycin and gentamicin (P=0.001). Gram-negative bacteria displayed the highest resistance rates toward penicillins, beta-lactam combination, monobactam and cephalosporins, while the highest sensitivity rates were toward amikacin followed by imipenem meropenem and gentamicin (P=0.001). It is worth mentioning that Gram-positive bacteria showed 100% sensitivity toward tigecycline. Thirty-eight (40 %) of all obtained bacterial strains were extensively drug-resistant XDR, 57 (60%) were multidrug resistance MDR and no pan-drug resistance PDR was reported. Gram-positive bacteria include 21% XDR and 44.2% MDR strains, while Gram-negative bacteria include 18.9% XDR and 15.7% MDR strains.