Original Article

Isolation, Identification, and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains from Various Clinical Samples in a University Hospital in Northern Cyprus

10.5152/cjms.2019.931

  • Nadeem Ullah
  • Emrah Güler
  • Meryem Güvenir
  • Ayşe Arıkan
  • Kaya Süer

Received Date: 27.03.2019 Accepted Date: 18.09.2019 Cyprus J Med Sci 2019;4(3):225-228

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a severe opportunistic bacterium responsible for frequently lethal nosocomial infections. It is highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics, creating a real challenge in the treatment of nosocomial infections.

MATERIALS and METHODS

A total of 152 samples were collected from various departments of the hospital, which included wound, blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), sputum, aspiration fluid, and ear, nose, and throat swab samples. The susceptibility pattern of bacteria was determined by using the BD Phoenix 100 automated microbiology system. P. aeruginosa was also identified according to its cultural, microscopic, morphological, and biochemical characteristics.

RESULTS

Samples were identified by using BD Phoenix 100 and conventional biochemical tests are used for confirmation. The results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that P. aeruginosa was sensitive to piperacillin–tazobactam (92.5%), meropenem (87.2%), colistin (86.7%), ticarcillin–clavulanate (86.6%), amikacin (81.5%), imipenem (80.8%), norfloxacin (79.5%), cefepime (78.4%), ceftazidime (76.0%), gentamicin (76.0%), levofloxacin (73.5%), and ciprofloxacin (73.2%). On the other hand, the resistance rates of amoxicillin, ampicillin–sulbactam, cefuroxime, nitrofurantoin, cefoxitin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and ceftriaxone were found to be 100%, 98.7%, 97.7%, 97.7%, 94.7%, 94.7%, and 93.8% respectively. The prevalence of antibiotic susceptibility of P. aeruginosa in Cyprus is more in males (62.5%) than in females (37.5%).

CONCLUSION

Knowledge about local antimicrobial resistance patterns of P. aeruginosa is essential for the guidance of empirical therapy by physicians, medical microbiologists, and public health officials. Antimicrobial surveillance should be done periodically to detect current resistance in our local area.

Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility, Northern Cyprus, pseudomonas aeruginosa, resistance