The Effect of Antibiotic Resistance on Therapeutic Outcomes of Urinary Tract Infections in Hospitalized Patients with UTI

Numerous microbial agents have been identified as the causative agents of UTIs, such as Escherichia coli. The spread of antibiotic resistance is increasing among strains causing UTIs. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of etiological agents of UTIs and their antibiotic resistance patterns and to determine related risk factors and treatment outcomes of antibiotic resistance in Razi teaching hospital, Guilan, North of Iran.

This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed from April 2017 to September 2018. All patients with clinical symptoms of UTI were included. The patients’ complete medical records were assessed. Moreover, bacterial isolation and identification were performed by conventional bacteriological and standard biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method based on the CLSI recommendation.

Gram-negative bacilli were identified as the most common causative agents of UTIs in all cases (140, 100%), of which E. coli had the highest isolation rate with 76 cases (54.3%), followed by Klebsiella spp. with 23 cases (16.4%).  Antibacterial susceptibility tests revealed that 64.3% of the isolates were resistant to three antibiotics of different classes (MDR phenotype).

In conclusion, Gram-negative bacilli were the most common causative agents of UTIs, and E. coli had the highest isolation rate (54.3%). Regarding the high prevalence of antibiotic resistance and MDR phenotype, paying attention to drug resistance patterns of pathogens and proper and correct administration of antibiotics as well as proper and timely monitoring of treatment, could help physicians decrease the patients’ mortality rate.