A STUDY ON BACTERIAL PATHOGENS CAUSING COMMUNITY ACQUIRED URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN GERIATRIC PATIENTS AND THEIR ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN

Background-Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are more common in the elderly than younger adults. They are also the most common cause of bacteremia in elderly patients. Knowledge of the spectrum of uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern is important for defining empirical treatment of UTI in elderly. Objectives-To evaluate the uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern among elderly patients of age 65 years and above with community acquired UTI. Materials and methods - 300 clean catch midstream urine samples from geriatric patients ( 65 years) were processed in the Microbiology lab. Bacterial isolates obtained were identified by Gram stain and biochemical reactions. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. ESBL production was determined by the screening method and the CLSI phenotypic confirmatory method. Results - Fever (29) and dysuria (25) were the most common symptoms of UTI in elderly in the present study. Diabetes mellitus (50) was the most common risk factor associated with UTI. Bacterial pathogens were isolated from 132 (44) of the 300 elderly patients. Escherichia coli (E.coli) was the most frequently isolated uropathogen accounting for 55.22 of the total isolates. ESBL production was observed in 58.10 of the E. coli strains. Conclusion - The study revealed E. coli as the predominant bacterial pathogen causing community acquired UTI in elderly. An increasing trend in the production of ESBL among uropathogens was also noted.