[Antimicrobial resistance pattern for gram-negative uropathogens isolated from hospitalised patients and outpatients in Cartagena, 2005-2008].
OBJECTIVE
Determining the microbial aetiology spectrum and antibiotic resistance pattern of uropathogens causing urinary tract infections in hospitalised patients and outpatients.


METHODS
A descriptive study was carried out between February 2005 and November 2008 at the San Buenaventura University's Clinical Laboratory in Cartagena. Antibiotic sensitivity was determined by the Kirby Bauer method.


RESULTS
Out of the total specimens (1,384) analysed over the four-year study period, 455 of the urine samples (32.9 %) were culture positive, most (81.4 %) having come from females. The bacterium isolated most frequently was Escherichia coli (60.1 %) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.9 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.6 %), Proteus mirabilis (5.4 %) and Acinetobacter baumannii (1.4 %). The Gram-negative isolates displayed a high level of resistance to ampicillin (range 84.3100 %), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (range 66.580 %) and ciprofloxacin (range 4057.9 %).


CONCLUSIONS
Gram-negative bacteria were responsible for urinary tract infections in the patients involved in this study. The most commonly isolated bacteria were E. coli. Empirical administration of a third-generation cephalosporin for initial treatment of urinary tract infections in this population appears prudent from the perspective of antimicrobial susceptibility.
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Montealegre (IDIBAM), Universidad de San Buenaventura, Cartagena, Colombia. raimundo_castro_orozco@hotmail.com
Raimundo
R
Castro-Orozco
Ana C
AC
Barreto-Maya
Heidy
H
Guzmán-Álvarez
Rolando J
RJ
Ortega-Quiroz
Lourdes
L
Benítez-Peña
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003105:Colombia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000652:urine; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000652:urine; D055815:Young Adult
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents