Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging threat in today’s world. Most of the common pathogens are demon - strating significant resistance to commonly used drugs. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the most common bacterial pathogens in India. There are recent reports of high level of antibiotic resistance in E. coli. This will affect the treatment of common conditions such as urinary infection. This is a public health crisis for low- and middle- income countries such as India, as higher antibiotics will cause strain on the already restricted health budget. However, to curb the problem, there is need of clinical data on the prevalence of resistance.
Objective: This cross-sectional study was aimed at generating primary data on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in E. coli in a sample population from Eastern India.
Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital of Eastern India. Adult patients presenting with urinary tract infection (UTI) were included. Clean catch midstream urine sample was collected and cultured under aerobic conditions. Antibiotic sensitivity was tested by disk diffusion method after liquid culture. Standard descriptive statistical methods were used. Microsoft Excel was used for arranging the data. Result: There were 32 patients in the study with male:female ratio of 10:22. Almost half (47%) of the specimens were resistant to ceftriaxone. Aminoglycoside resistance was found in 25% of the organisms. Fluoroquinolones resistance was also very high with 60% resistant to norfloxacin. E. coli specimens of 78% (n = 25) were multidrug resistant. Conclusion: Our results give some preliminary data on antibiotic resistance pattern of E. coli in this region. This will help in the choice of antibiotics for common conditions such as UTI. However, bigger multicentric studies are needed.