Development of Antibiogram Toolkit for Enhancing Empiric Antibiotic Selection in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: A clinical microbiology laboratory at the hospital receives frequent reports on the antibiotic susceptibilities of localized bacterial isolates. Clinicians frequently utilize antibiograms to evaluate regional susceptibility rates, as a tool in choosing initial antibiotic therapy, and to track changes in resistance over time within a facility. Objectives: To develop an antibiogram using culture sensitivity data. To help select empirical antibiotic therapy for suspected infection. Methodology: A prospective study was conducted in 243 patients with positive culture sensitivity data in the department of microbiology at MVJ medical college and research hospital for a period of 6 months (February 2022-August 2022). Patients of either gender irrespective of the age, diagnosed with bacterial infection and having positive culture sensitivity data with or without comorbid conditions and pregnancy were included. In a case report form that was specially created, all the necessary patient information was gathered. The antibiogram displays the percentage susceptibility of the most frequently isolated bacteria in tabular form. Results: In our study the most isolated organism was found to be Klebsiella species (30.86%), followed by E. coli (18.52%), Staphylococcus aureus (10.29%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.47%), which showed that Klebsiella species were susceptible to colistin (100%), Fosfomycin (89%) and showed 100% resistance towards PIP/TAZ and ampicillin. E. coli showed susceptibility towards meropenem (100%), nitrofurantoin (95.5%), imipenem (95%), and Fosfomycin (91.7%). Conclusion: The study's high rates of resistance across both Gram-positive and Gram-negative isolates highlight the need for accurate anti-microbial sensitivity testing data collected through routine cultures, which can aid in the consistent development and dissemination of antibiograms and guide the use of antibiotics. Key words: Antibiogram, Antibiotic resistance, Gram-positive, Gram-negative, Antimicrobial therapy, Culture sensitivity.