title: Isolation and Molecular Detection of Gram Negative Bacteria Causing Urinary Tract Infection in Patients Referred to Shahrekord Hospitals, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), and their complications, cause serious health problems, which affect millions of people every year. Infections of the urinary tract are the second most common type of infection in the body and approximately 20% of women are especially prone to UTIs for reasons not yet well understood. Urinary Tract Infections in men are not as common as in women yet can be very serious when they do occur. Accurate identification of bacterial isolates is an essential task of the clinical microbiology laboratory.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and variety of the causative microbial agents of UTIs in patients who had referred to a medical laboratory of Kashani and Hajar hospital in Shahrekord, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study 147 urine samples of patients (urine test results were positive for UTIs) were examined during April to September 2013. A total of 147 urine samples of patients with clinical symptoms of UTI who had been referred to a medical laboratory of Kashani and Hajar hospital in Shahrekord (Iran), were collected and processed immediately for laboratory analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Escherichia coli was identified as the most common causative agent of UTIs (51.70% of total isolates in both sexes), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. Pneumoniae) (16.32%). Frequency of Proteus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Entrobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Providencia spp. was 10.88%, 6.12%, 5.44%, 4.08%, 3.40% and 2.04%, respectively. Statistical analysis by Fisher exact test showed that there was no significant relationship between the type of bacteria and gender (P > 0.05). Chi square test showed that there was no significant relationship between the type of bacteria and the use of catheter and age group (P > 0.05). However, there was a significant relationship between the type of bacteria and the history of hospitalization (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings implied that a wide range of bacteria could be involved in creating urinary tract infection in patients referred to a medical laboratory of Kashani and Hajar hospital in Shahrekord, Iran. Regardless of age, sex and the use of catheter, a wide range of bacteria could be involved in urinary tract infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Elahe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tajbakhsh
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tajbakhsh
authors.affiliation: Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, IR Iran ; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Faham
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khamesipour
keywords: Gram-Negative Bacteria; Isolation; Molecular Detection; Urinary Tract Infections