Antibiotic Sensitivity Patterns of Escherichia coli Isolated in Urine Samples of Patients Referred to Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital in Zanjan

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is considered to be the most common cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) worldwide. Due to the recent rise in bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the appearance of multidrug-resistant E. coli, treatment options have been significantly limited, thus increasing the cost of treatment as well as morbidity and mortality rates, especially in developing countries. This study aimed to identify the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of E. coli for use in early empirical treatments and cultures of negative UTIs caused by previous antibiotic usage.

In the present study, 704 urine samples with a positive culture of E. coli were evaluated in terms of susceptibility to gentamycin, nitrofurantoin, ceftazidime, cefixime, meropenem, cefepime, azithromycin, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Data were collected based on age, sex, and hospitalization or ambulatory patient status. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0.

E. coli showed the lowest resistance to nitrofurantoin (4.5%) and the highest resistance to cefixime (34.9). There was a statistically significant relationship between antibiotic resistance and age, gender, and hospitalization status

Because of the high resistance rate of E. coli to cefixime, precautions should be taken before using cefixime to treat UTIs.