BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM FEMALE PATIENTS WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTION AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE DISTRIBUTION: INTEGRATED MEDICINE APPROACH TO INFECTION MANAGEMENT

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infectious diseases in the community. The ongoing misuse of antimicrobials has led to the rise of bacterial resistance, a worldwide problem. The aim of this study was to examine the distribution and antibiotic resistance profiles of pathogens commonly found in female patients with urinary tract infections and to provide potential benefits of integrative treatment strategies. The study was conducted on female patients diagnosed with urinary tract infection who applied to the “Bioloji Tababat” clinic in Baku between June 2023 and July 2024. Etiological profiles and antibiotic resistance rates of bacteria ranked according to different age categories were analyzed. The study included 233 female patients with clinical urinary tract infection. Of these, 165 (70.8%) were positive for gram-negative bacteria and 68 (29.2%) were positive for gram-positive bacteria only for Staphylococcus aureus. The most common gram-negative uropathogen was E. coli (n = 114; 48.9). E. coli showed higher susceptibility to meropenem (96.5%), amikacin (99.1%), tobramycin (98.2%), nitrofurantoin (96.5%) and piperacillin/tazobactam (98.2%). The highest resistance rate of K. pneumoniae was detected against ampicillin and imipenem (100%). S.aureus was most susceptible to nitrofuran (97.1%) and tigecycline (98.6%). The highest number of E. coli was found in the 19-29 age group (60.5%, 69/114), followed by the 0-18 (12.2%, 14/114) and ≥60 age groups (12.2%, 14/114). The second most common organism in the 19-29 age group was S. aureus 58.8% (40/68), followed by K. pneumoniae 55.5% (10/18). A significant association was found between the 0-18, 19-29, 30-39 and ≥60 age groups in terms of bacterial isolates (p <0.05). The results of the study highlight the challenges of antibiotic resistance in the treatment of UTI and the potential contribution of integrative treatment approaches to this process.