Prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among patients in two tertiary hospitals in Eastern Uganda
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance patterns of
bacterial isolates from inpatients and outpatients in Mbale and Soroti regional referral hospitals in
Eastern Uganda.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of culture and antibiotic sensitivity test results from the microbiology
laboratories of the two tertiary hospitals was conducted for a 3-year period (January 2016–December
2018).
Results: Microbiology records of 3092 patients were reviewed and analysed, with 1305 (42.1%) samples
yielding clinical isolates. The most prevalent isolates were Escherichia coli (n = 442; 33.9%), Staphylococcus
aureus (n = 376; 28.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 237; 18.2%), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 76;
5.8%). High rates of antimicrobial resistance were detected across both Gram-negative and Gram-positive
bacteria. Escherichia coli and K. pneumoniae were resistant to several agents such as amoxicillin/
clavulanate (83.5%; 64.6%), cefotaxime (74.2%; 52.7%), ciprofloxacin (92.1%; 27.8%), gentamicin (51.8%;
76%), imipenem (3.2%; 10.5%), tetracycline (98%; 74.5%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (74.1%;
74.3%), respectively. Staphylococcus aureus and S. pneumoniae exhibited the following resistance profile:
cefoxitin (44.4%; 40.9%), chloramphenicol (69.1%; 27.6%) clindamycin (21.5%; 24.4%), gentamicin (83.2%;
66.9%), penicillin (46.5%; -) tetracycline (85.6%; 97.6%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (88%; 91.3%), and
vancomycin (41.2%; -).
Conclusion: We observed high resistance rates to antibiotics among the majority of microorganisms that
were isolated from the samples collected from patients in Eastern Uganda. Furthermore, measures
should be undertaken locally to improve microbiology diagnostics and to prevent the spread of
antibiotic-resistant strains as this impedes the optimal treatment of bacterial infections and narrows the
choice of effective therapeutic options.
Description
Keywords
Antimicrobial resistance, Antibiotics, Bacterial infections, Microbiology
Citation
Obakiro, S. B., Kiyimba, K., Paasi, G., Napyo, A., Anthierens, S., Waako, P., ... & Kostyanev, T. (2021). Prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among patients in two tertiary hospitals in Eastern Uganda. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 25, 82-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jgar.2021.02.021