Aerobic bacterial isolates from post-surgical wound and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern: a hospital based cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Post-operative wound infections as well as emergence and spread of drug resistant strains have been found to pose a major problem in the field of surgery. This study investigated common aerobic bacterial isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in patients with clinical diagnosis of post-surgical wound infections. Microbial analysis was carried on pus samples obtained from 194 patients with clinical diagnosis of postsurgical wound infections at Hawassa Teaching and Referral Hospital; from November 2010 to March 2011. The isolation rate of aerobic bacteria was 138 (71.1). S. aureus was the most frequent isolates (37.3); followed by E. coli (25.4); Klebsiella species (13.6); Proteus (10.2); P. aeruginosa (10.2) and coagulase negative Staphylococci (3.4). Single and multiple antimicrobial resistances were observed in 6.8 and 93.2 of the isolates; respectively. No bacterial isolates was found to be sensitive to all antibiotics tested. The high isolation rate of aerobic bacteria and their increased resistance to the commonly used antibiotics warrants the need to practise aseptic procedures and rational use of antimicrobial agents leading to minimize infection rate and emergence of drug resistance