Prevalence and Antibiotic Sensitivity Pattern of Bacteria Isolated from Nosocomial Infections in a Surgical Ward.

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims: Nosocomial infections among surgical patients are common and many are preventable. It is critical to understand microbiology of these infections in order to create appropriate strategies to reduce this risk. This study was planned to delineate the occurrence, microbiology and sensitivity pattern of such infections among surgical patients. Subject and Methods: Various from 130 patients admitted to the surgery ward were cultured, identified and antibiotic sensitivity was performed by standard methods. Results: From 130 patients, 146 isolates were recovered. Of these 140 (95.9%) were bacterial and six (4.1%) were of Candida spp. Most frequently observed nosocomial infections were SSIs (55.4%) followed by infections of urinary tract (28.4%), respiratory tract infections (10.8%) and bacteremia was observed in only 5.4% patients. The predominant pathogen isolated from polymicrobial episodes were E. coli, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, A. baumanii and P. aeruginosa. Resistance to b-lactams was high and carbapenems were found to be most effective drugs against GNBs. Conclusions: Gramnegative organisms are the predominant pathogens causing infections in surgical patients. The increasing trend of resistance to b-lactams is posing a great problem. So for proper management of critically ill patients and patients undergoing various operative procedures and other medical interventions, hospital antibiotic policies need frequent revisions.