Assessment of Antibiotic Resistance among Enterococci Isolated from Patients with Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess antibiotic resistance among enterococci isolated from patients with urinary tract infections in Khartoum State. The study was conducted during the period from May to August, 2012. Mid-stream urine specimens were collected from each patient suspected to urinary tract infection. The specimens were cultured on blood and MacConkey’s agar for primary isolation of the pathogens. Identification of these pathogens were done by colonial morphology, Gram’s stain and biochemical tests. Modified Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method was adopted to assess the antibiotic resistance among the isolated enterococci. The antibiotics assessed were vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, imipenem, nitrofurantoin and co- trimixazole. Out of 200 urine specimens investigated153 (76.5%) yielded bacterial growth and 47 (23.5%) failed to demonstrate any bacterial growth. Identified enterococci were E. faecalis (22) and E. faecium. (11). Antibiotic susceptibility analysis revealed that the resistance rate of enterococcal species was 63.6% for co-trimixazole, 60.6% for vancomycin, 51.5% for ciprofloxacin and 15.2% to 6.1% for the rest of antibiotics tested. The study concluded that the rate of antibiotic resistance is high among enterococcal isolated from patients with urinary tract infections. Further studies are required to validate these results.