COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PSEUDOMONAL GROWTH IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETIC FOOT INFECTION AND ITS ANTIBIOTIC SENSITIVITY PATTERN

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine community-acquired pseudomonas aeruginosa growth in patients with diabetic foot infections and check its antibiotic sensitivity patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 180 diabetic patients with foot infections. Blood samples and wound culture samples were sent to the hospital laboratory for analysis. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. After stratification, the chi-square test was applied, keeping the p-value less than 0.05 as significant. RESULTS. The mean and standard deviation for age was 58.9± 5.9 years. One hundred and two (56.7%) patients were male, while 78(43.3%) were female. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from 16.1 % of patients with diabetic foot infections. Nearly 100% were sensitive to colistin and polymyxin B. Piperacillin, tazobactam, and imipenem showed a sensitivity of 93.1%, while cefipime and amikacin showed a sensitivity of 89% and 82%, respectively. CONCLUSION. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a commonly isolated gram-negative rod from patients with diabetic foot infections, especially in our setup. It is usually resistant to commonly prescribed oral antibiotics and requires hospital admission for intravenous antibiotics. Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth is equally common in males and females and patients with different socioeconomic and educational classes. KEYWORDS. Diabetes mellitus, Diabetic foot infection, Culture and Sensitivity