title: Puerperal sepsis in a rural hospital in Sudan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasingly, women in rural areas in Sudan reported to hospital with puerperal infections.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was design to identify the common pathogens causing puerperal infections and their susceptibility to current antibiotics.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively studied 170 women from January, 2011 through January 2012 attended Hussein Mustafa Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology at Gadarif State, Sudan. We included patients if they met the criteria proposed by the WHO for definition of maternal sepsis. Blood was collected on existing infection guidelines for clean practice and equipments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 170 samples, 124 (72.9%) were pathogen-positive samples. Out the 124 positive cases, aerobes were the predominant isolates 77 (62.1 %%) which included Staph.aureus 49 (39.5%), Staph. epidemics 7 (5.6%) and Listeria monocytogenes 21 (16.9%). The anaerobes isolates were Clostridium perfringens 34 (27.4 %) and Entrobactor cloacae 13 (10.5%). Standard biochemical test were for bacterial isolation. Higher rate of infections followed vaginal delivery compared to Cesarean section 121 (97.6%), 3 (2.5%) respectively. All strains of Staph were sensitive to Vancomycin, Gentamicin and Ceftriaxone. C. perfringens were sensitive to Ceftriaxone, Penicillins, Vancomycin and Metronidazole, while E. cloacae were sensitive to Gentamicin and Ceftriaxone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the limited resources in the developing countries, treatment based on cultures remains the only solution to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality rates following puerperal infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of medical laboratories, college of applied medical sciences, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia; Department of microbiology, College of Medicine, Gadarif University, Sudan.
authors.forename: Mohamed Issa
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Mohamed Alkhatim
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Alsammani
authors.forename: Rabie Ali
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Babiker
keywords: Sudan.; maternal sepsis; morbidity; mortality; puerperal sepsis