Anti-biogram of pneumococcal isolates in a tertiary care hospital

Streptococcus pneumoniae are gram positive normal flora of the upper respiratory tract in humans but are also the primary causative bacterial agents of pneumonia and otitis media mostly in children. They are also known to cause sinusitis, bronchitis, meningitis as well as bacteremia. They are differentiated from other Streptococci by their special characteristics such as their morphology, bile solubility as well as their sensitivity to optochin in addition to their display of a capsule. They are sensitive to most antibiotics and the beta lactams are considered the best drugs of choice in their treatment. Antimicrobial resistance currently considered as a serious public health challenge, not only in hospital settings but also in the community at large. Aims and Objectives 1. To find out the occurrence of pneumococcal etiology in Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) and Hospital Acquired Pneumonia (HAP). 2. To find out Penicillin resistance among these isolates by: Penicillin E-strips. 3. To identify Macrolide resistance among these isolates by: Erythromycin E- strips. Materials and Methods: Pneumococcal isolates were collected from the respiratory samples such as sputum, endotracheal secretions, throat swab, broncho alveolar lavange, and also from other samples such as ear swab and the bacteremia suspected blood samples. Results: A total of 30 pneumococcal isolates were collected from respiratory samples namely: sputum, endotracheal secretions, throat swab, broncho alveolar lavange, and other samples like ear swab and blood. The collected isolates were confirmed to be Streptococcus pneumonia. Out of 30 samples, 18 (60%) were collected from male patients and 12 (40%) samples from female patients. Conclusion: The need of MIC determination for antimicrobial susceptibility pattern testing of Pneumococci is a better method because it was found that the isolates which were sensitive for disc diffusion method even had the resistant MIC as 40% and 56.6% for Penicillin and Erythromycin.