ABSTRACT
Background: Common infections of the skin are mostly treated empirically depending upon the personal habits or promotional efforts of the pharmaceutical industry. Scientific approach to the treatment of such infections would be either to treat the infections definitively based on the culture and sensitivity results or at least on evidence based treatment
Objective: To determine the pathogens involved and their sensitivity patterns in common skin infections in a tertiary care hospital
Subjects and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in Sheikh Zayed Medical College/Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, over a period of three months from 1[st] September to 30[th] November, 2013, involving a total of 135 subjects suffering from various common bacterial infections of skin. Their pus or blister fluid samples were taken and cultured in blood agar or Macconkey's agar to determine the pathogens involved and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns by disc method. The data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 15
Results: The dominant bacteria causing skin infections remain Gram Positive cocci [37.8%] followed by Gram Negative Rods [26.7%]. The most sensitive antibiotic was found to be Amikacin [20.7%], followed by sulzone/cefoparazone [19.2%], ciprofloxacin [14%], linezolid [14%] and azithromycin [9.6%]
Conclusion: From the present study, it is concluded that Gram positive cocci continue to remain the most common pathogen in bacterial infections of the skin, followed by Gram Negative Rods. Most of the pathogens were sensitive to Amikacin followed by sulzone/cefoparazone combination, ciprofloxacin, linezolid, azithromycin, levofloxacin. The results of this study emphasize the need for checking the indigenous sensitivity patterns of the pathogens and accordingly modify our empirical prescription of the antibiotics based on such studies