determination pattern of antimicrobial resistance of pseudomonas isolated from patients in a university tertiary hospital

Introduction: Pseudomonas are ubiquitous bacteria widely present in nature. However, they have emerged as an opportunistic pathogen for humans. This bacterium is accountable for many localized and disseminated diseases, especially wounds in burn patients, respiratory infections, septicemia and bacteremia. Among all Pseudomonas species, P. aeruginosa is one of the important and most virulent species in hospital settings, while other pathogenic species include stutzeri, putida and fluorescence. The aim of this study was to assess pattern of antibiotic resistance in these bacteria isolated from a University teaching and treatment center. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 99 Pseudomonas strains (68 strains P. aeruginosa and 31 other Pseudomonas species) isolated from various clinical specimens. Antimicrobial drug susceptibility test was performed using the disc agar diffusion method according to CLSI recommendations. In this study, among various clinical specimens sent to microbiology laboratory, wound (59.59%) was found as a major source of Pseudomonas spp. Among various wards, Pseudomonas spp. was isolated more from patients admitted to burns ward (48.48%). Antibiotic susceptibility assay results revealed non susceptibility pattern towards most of the antibiotics; however, among all antibiotics tested, most common resistance was observed towards ceftazidime (76.76%). The results of this study shows the presence of Pseudomonas infection in the hospital setting and their developed resistance towards many conventional antibiotics, which is a concern at this treatment center. Thus, there exist a need for evaluation of careful and accurate measurement of resistance and assessment of exact drug administration policies. Therefore, to control the infection and prevent from increased prevalence of resistant strains appropriate resolution should be followed.