title: Increasing ciprofloxacin resistance of isolates from infected urines of a cross-section of patients in Karachi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of the research was to evaluate the current effectiveness of ciprofloxacin on the uropathogens prevalent in infected urines of a cross-section of patients in Karachi, Pakistan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An observational study conducted in a private diagnostic laboratory and its branches in key areas of Karachi City from February 2010 to July 2011. A total of 2963 consecutive urine samples were cultured on chocolate agar, CLED medium and selective EMB agar. Growth of possible uropathogens was noted, and compared retrospectively with earlier lab data of suggestive urine cultures (n = 1997) recorded during January 2009 and December 2009. The isolates were identified using routine procedures and the API 20 system and evaluated for their sensitivity to ciprofloxacin by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Data was subjected to statistical analysis on SPSS version 16. Out of the present-day culture-positive urines, 2409 (80.4%) yielded gram-negative rods, and 554 (18.5%) gram-positive cocci. E.coli (43.1%) was most frequent, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (22.4%) and Staphylococcus aureus (15.5%). 57.2% of the Gram-negative bacteria and 48.7% of the Gram-positive isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. In the earlier (2009) screening, 39% of Gram-negative rods and 48% of Gram-positive cocci were indifferent to the drug.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A decrease in bacterial susceptibility of uropathogens to ciprofloxacin, a commonly prescribed drug in our population, is underlined, occurring possibly due to overuse pressure. Empirical initial treatment with ciprofloxacin would be inadequate in more than half of UTI cases, thereby counseling increased C/S testing of urines to provide existing sensitivity data for apt drug prescription.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Sindh Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Essa Lab, B-122, Block-H, Shahrah-e-Jahangir, Karachi, Pakistan. drfarhanessa@essalab.com
authors.forename: Farhan Essa
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Akhtar Amin
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Memon
authors.forename: Muhammad Yasin
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Bandukda
authors.forename: Marium
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jamil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017211:Treatment Failure; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002939:Ciprofloxacin