in vitro susceptibility testing to antimicrobial agents of urinary tract infection bacteria in women: a 5-year retrospective study

Introduction: The growing resistance rates of urinary pathogens represent a serious problem. The aim of this study was to analyze the etiology of community-acquired urinary tract infections, their first-line antimicrobial resistance and the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) in gram negative bacilli. Methods: The study was conducted between January 2011 and December 2015 using data from the Microbiology Laboratory at the teaching hospital Hospital de Clínicas, which belongs to the National University of Asunción. Results: A total of 1957 urinary pathogens were found in women. Escherichia coli was the most commonly isolated bacterium (57%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (11%) and Streptococcus agalactiae (2%), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (2%) and Proteus mirabilis (2%). The resistance rates of Escherichia coli were the following: to trimetoprim-sulfametoxazol, 43%; to ciprofloxacin, 32%; to ampicilin/sulbactam, 32%; to cefotaxime, 13 %; to piperacillin/tazobactam, 8%; nitrofurantoin, 2%, whereas it did not show resistance to meropenem during this period. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases were produced by 11% of the E. coli isolates and 30% of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. Conclusions: The resistance and cross-resistance rates found in this study pose a serious problem which compels the continuous assessment of the empirical therapy for urinary tract infections at this hospital.