Prevalence of hospital-acquired infection in Kirkuk City

Aims: This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of pathogenic bacterial species responsible for hospital-acquired infections in Kirkuk City. Methodology and results:The study was carried out in Kirkuk City from the 15th of January 2023 to the 15th of August 2023 and included the collection of 150 clinical samples from patients admitted to Azadi and Kirkuk Teaching Hospitals.All swabs and samples were processed as routine culture.A total of 113 samples (75.33%) tested positive in the culture, with 57 (50.44%) showing growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 56 (49.56%) showing development of non-Pseudomonas bacteria such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp.and Enterococcus faecalis.The hospital-acquired infections were more common in females, 59.30%, compared with males, 40.35%.Biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa isolates was assessed using Congo red agar and 41/57 (71.93%) isolates were biofilm producers.The antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out on fifty-seven (57) P. aeruginosa isolates.The findings revealed varying degrees of resistance to different antibiotics.The highest resistance percentages were observed for ticarcillin (96%) and ticarcillin/clavulanic acid (91%).Levofloxacin displayed a resistance rate of 33%, whereas ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime exhibited resistance rates of 30% and 39%, respectively.Both cefepime and gentamycin showed resistance rates of 26%, while amikacin demonstrated a resistance rate of 30%.Notably, imipenem and meropenem displayed a sensitivity rate of 100% each.Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the predominant bacterial cause of disease due to its capacity to withstand conventional antibiotics and create biofilms.