ABSTRACT
To identify the common bacterial pathogens involved in postoperative wound infections and their sensitivity patterns. Cross-sectional study. Surgical ward 2, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Karachi, from December 15, 2008 to December 14, 2009. Wound swabs were collected for patients who developed surgical site infection during the study period. Infected cases were identified using Centre for Disease Control [CDC] definition for surgical site infections. Culture and sensitivity were performed using American Society of Microbiology [ASM] guidelines. During the study period, 82 [7.3%] patients developed postoperative wound infection in the selected ward. The most commonly isolated pathogens were E.coli [33.8%], Pseudomonas aeruginosa [16.9%] and Staphylococcus aureus [15.5%]. Resistance pattern of E.coli isolates showed 100%, 93%, 32% and 12% resistance to ceftriaxone, ofloxacin, amikacin and meropenem respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were 100% resistant to tetracyclin and ceftazidime, 91.6% to ofloxacin, 83.3% to meropenem and 66.7% to amikacin. Staphylococcus aureus exhibited maximum resistance to cloxacillin [100%] followed by ofloxacin [90.9%], tetracyclin [45.5%], amikacin [45.5%], chloramphenicol [36.4%] and vancomycin [0%]. Gram negative organisms were frequently associated with postoperative wound infections in general surgery ward and resistance to multiple drugs was noted