Background: Urinary Tract Infections are considered as one of the most common bacterial infections with an estimated annual global incidence of 250 million. The extensive and inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents has invariably resulted in the development of antibiotic resistance which, in recent years, has become a major problem worldwide.
Methods: This observational study was conducted at SKIMS Medical College Srinagar J&K India from January 2015 to January 2017. The study included all the patients who were admitted or visited the outpatient department in the hospital with symptoms of UTI.
Results: Out of 2400 clinically suspected cases of UTI, culture was positive in 720 (30%) samples. Maximum patients were in the age group of 21-40 yrs followed by 41-60 yrs. Males (41.10%) were less prone to urinary tract infections than females (58.90%). Escherichia coli was the most common isolate 56.11% followed by Enterococcus spp 13.5% (n=310), Klebsiella pneumoniae 11.11% (n=80), Proteus spp. 6.6% (n=48), Staphylococcus aureus & Enterobacter spp. 3.3% (n=24), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 3.1% (n=22) and Acinetobacter spp.1.4% (n=10). Most of the urinary isolates were sensitive to, carbepenems, Amikacin, and Nitrofurantoin.
Conclusions: Regular monitoring is required to establish reliable information about resistance pattern of urinary pathogens for optimal empirical therapy of patients with UTIs. Knowledge of uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in a geographical region will help in appropriate and judicious antibiotic usage in a health care setup.