Bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of wound infections in a tertiary care hospital in South India

Abstract

Infections caused due to injuries are due to microbial proliferation at the wound site following skin damage. Initial testing of micro-organisms in terms of culturing and sensitivity leads to appropriate antibiotic selection and prevents escalation of antimicrobial resistance.To evaluate the bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of wound infections in this single-centered study.The study included 160 patients suspected to have wound infection. Pus or tissue samples collected from patients were subjected to microbiological processing including Gram staining, culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Their demographic data and wound related factors (duration, nature, type) were recorded. The isolated organisms were evaluated for β-lactamase production using Extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) test, Modified Hodge test for Carbapenemase and AmpC β-lactamase enzyme detection tests. Most participants were 41-60 years old (45.63%). The majority had surgical site infections (SSI, 91.25%), early infected (91.1%) and clean (67.12%) wounds. The bacterial isolation rate was 80% and 45.27% (n=67) were Gram positive isolates, out of which 47 (70.14%) were multidrug resistant. was identified as the predominant organism (n=40), where 33 among 40 were methicillin sensitive, followed by (n=30, 23.43%). Amongst the Gram negative isolates (n=81, 54.73%), 60 (74.07%) were multidrug resistant with majority being susceptible to imipenem, meropenem and amikacin. The most common pathogen associated with wound infection was Methicillin sensitive with SSI being the most common type of wound infection.