Post-surgical Infection and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Bacteria Isolated from Admitted Patients with Signs of Infection at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Jimma, Ethiopia

Introduction: Nosocomial infection (hospital acquired infections) poses a significant burden and threat for public health. Treatment of such infections is becoming difficult due to resistance of antibiotics to the bacteria that circulate in the Hospital environment.

The aim of this study was to determine the profile and drug resistance pattern of bacteria isolated from inpatients with clinical signs of infection.

Methodology: A cross sectional study was done on patients admitted to surgical and gynecological wards. All patients were followed until discharge. Patients who had shown signs of infection after 48 hours of admission were interviewed for some socio demographic and associated factors data. Wound swab, urine and blood specimens were collected and processed to isolate and identify bacteria. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates was done.

Results: The overall prevalence of culture positive nosocomial infection was 35%. Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci, E. coli, and Pseudomonas species were the most frequent isolates. Nearly 100% of Gram positive and 92.6% of Gram negative isolates had shown multi drug resistance against two or more commonly used classes of drugs.

Conclusion: The observed multi drug resistance rate of the isolates is very worrisome and demands immediate attention.