Prevalence and antibiotics susceptibility of uropathogens isolated from urinary tract of patients at St. Lukes hospital Anua, Uyo

Urinarytract infections (UTI) are preventablebacterial infections encountered in the hospital and community settings. Despite the wide availability of antibiotics, uropathogens are among thebacterial infectionscommonly encountered with increasing antibiotic resistance.This study was carried out to establish the prevalence of bacterial isolates and their drug susceptibility patterns among the study population. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using the outpatients and inpatientspresented with symptoms of UTIat St. Lukes Hospital Anua, Uyo. Purposeful sampling was used to obtain 385 respondents. Midstream urine samples were obtained from respondents using sterile bottles. Bacterial isolates identification was done using biochemical tests while culture and sensitivity pattern of the isolates were determined using disc diffusion method. A questionnaire was administered to the respondents and data associated with risk factors was collected and analyzed at a = 0.05. Out of 385 urine samples, 112 (29%) patients were confirmed positive for UTI. The prevalence of UTI was higher among females (62.1%) compared to males (37.9%). Escherichia coli (55%) was the most predominant followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (10%), coagulase negative staphylococci (20.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.2%) and Proteus mirabilis (5%). The effectiveness of the antibiotics used varied among the isolates, and majority of the Gram positive isolates were sensitive to most antibiotics tested than the Gram negatives.Further 85% of the isolates were observed to be multidrug resistant, limiting treatment of UTIs with routinely used antibiotics. Hence, there is need for constant monitoring of antibiotics resistance for better management of patients on antibiotic treatment. In addition, the collected data could be used to determine the trends in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and therefore, assists in policy formulation on the currently used antibiotics for management of UTIs.