Bacterial Isolates and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Patients with Diabetic Foot Infections at Hayatabad Medical Complex of Peshawar, Pakistan

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), often exacerbated by secondary bacterial infections, are a major complication of diabetes and a leading cause of morbidity.Understanding the spectrum of bacterial pathogens and their profiles of antibiotic resistance is essential for developing effective treatment strategies.This study aimed to identify bacterial isolates from the DFUs and evaluate their susceptibility to commonly used antibiotics.A total of 186 patients with the DFUs were examined at Hayatabad Medical Complex of Peshawar in Pakistan over a threemonth period.Samples were collected from infected ulcer sites and cultured with standard microbiological techniques.Bacterial identification was performed with conventional methods, and antibiotic susceptibility testing was then conducted by using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method.Gram-Negative bacteria were predominant, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp., and Streptococcus pyogenes being the most commonly isolated organisms.Gram-Positive isolates including Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, P. aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.showed high sensitivity to Gentamicin, Meropenem, and Imipenem.In contrast, Acinetobacter spp.and Klebsiella spp.exhibited significant resistance, particularly to carbapenems.Staph.aureus was generally sensitive to firstline antibiotics, such as Vancomycin and Rifampicin whereas Staph.epidermidis demonstrated multidrug resistance including pan-drug resistance in some cases.These findings highlighted the complex and resistant microbial profiles of diabetic foot infections, thus emphasizing the importance of the culture-guided antibiotic therapy.The emergence of carbapenem-resistant strains underlined the requisites for continuous surveillance, judicious antibiotic use, and improved infection control strategies to aid the recovery of patients.