Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Uropathogenic ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Keffi Metropolis, Nigeria

Urinary tract infection (UTI) remains the most common bacterial infection in humans despite the widespread availability of antibiotics. Exteded spectrum beta-lactamase production is an important mechanism of antibiotic resistance in the Enterobacteriaceae. Antibiotic resistance is a rising dilemma of significant implications on global public health. Few data exist for the prevalence and trends of Klebsiella pneumoniae antibiotic resistance in Keffi metropolis Nigeria. This study was done to determine the prevalence of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae as well as its antibiotic susceptibility pattern regarding some predisposing factors. Aim: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of uropathogenic K. pneumoniae in Keffi metropolis, Nigeria. Methodology: The current study was a carried out in Keffi, Nasarawa state, Nigeria from July to October 2024. It was a cross-sectional study comprising of 160 early morning urine samples randomly collected from consenting participants in the six selected hospitals. Isolation and identification of K. pneumoniae was done using standard microbiological methods. The antibiotic susceptibility profile of isolates was carried out using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and interpretation was done following the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute protocol. Results obtained in this study were analysed using Smith’s Statistical Package (version 2.8, California, USA) and P value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The result of this study revealed an overall prevalence of 20/160 (12.5%). The highest prevalence of the isolate was seen in females 14(8.75) compared to males 6 (3.75%), while the highest prevance regarding age was recorded among the 15-34 age group 12 (7.5%) while the least was recorded among those greater than 65 years 0 (0%). Furthermore, the highest number of isolate was recorded at FMCK 7 (4.4%) followed jointly by GHK and PHC TK 4 (2.5%) with PHC, KP and PHC AJ 1 (0.63%) beign the least respectively. There was a high level of resistance to ceftazidime 20 (100%), followed jointly by ceftriaxone, cefurexime and treptomycin 19 (95%) and augmentin 18 (90%) but low to amoxicillin 6 (30%) and ofloxacin 6 (30%) respectively. Most of the isolates tested were multidrug resistant and all were extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing. Conclusion: The relatively high detection rate of multidrug resistant uropathogenic K. pneumoniae in this study calls for concern. More concerning is the isolation from primary health care centers (PHCs) signifying the importance of universal health coverage and the place of PHCs in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs as one of the strategies to control the spread of antimocrobial resistance.