Antibiotics susceptibility patterns of bacteria associated with diabetic wound infections in selected hospitals in Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria

This research investigated the bacteria associated with diabetic wound infections in selected hospitals in Awka, Nigeria and their antibiotics susceptibility patterns. 115(98.3%) isolates were characterized and identified from 117(100%) study participants specimen using standard microbiological methods. The results showed that 78(67.8%) were Gram-negative and 37(32.2%) were Gram-positive. Staphylococcus aureus 29(25.2%) was the predominant isolate followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa24(20.8%), Escherichia coli 21(18.3%), Klebsiella pneumonia 13(11.3%), Serratia marcescens 8(7.0%), Proteus vulgaris 5(4.3%), Enterococcus faecalis 4(3.5%), Enterobacter specie 4(3.5%), Bacteroide fragilis 3(2.6%), Staphylococcus epidermidis 3(2.6%) and Streptococcus pyogenes 1(0.9%). Antibiotics susceptibility testing revealed that Pseudomonas aeruginosawas most sensitive to Colistin (100%), followed by Gentamicin (87.5%) but resistant to Vancomycin (100%) and Erythromycin (87.5%), Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to Cefuroxime (100%), followed by Piperacillin-tazobactam (100%) but resistant to Meropenem (100%) and Ceftazidime (100%), Escherichia coli was most sensitive to Imipenem (90.5%) followed by Meropenem (81.0%) but resistant to Cefoxitin (100%) and Erythromycin (100%). Multidrug-resistance (MDR) profiles of the organisms showed that of the 115 bacterial isolates, 99 (86.1%) were MDR, that is resistant to more than two agents of antibiotic classes, whereas 16(13.9%) were non-MDR. Continuous surveillance to monitor etiology and antibiotics susceptibility patterns both in the community and hospital settings to guide the empirical use of antibiotics should be carried out. Increasing awareness among the population to the hazards of inappropriate antibiotics use through public health education campaigns should also be undertaken.