Antimicrobial Resistance Profile Among Major Bacterial Pathogens in Southern Babil, Iraq

Background: At present, drug-resistant pathogens are considered one of the major increasing causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. The data on microorganisms' resistance assist define the best available treatment for patients. Therefore, this study aimed to screen the antimicrobial-resistant profile of different drugs in major clinical pathogens of urine, ear and wound infections. Methods: This study was conducted in Al-Shomali General Hospital, Southern Babil, Iraq from October 2019 to May 2020. Totally 67 clinical specimens obtained from the wound, urine, and ear discharge collected from hospitalized patients as well as 30 healthy individuals participate in this study. Then, the standard microbiological methods carried outperformed to the isolated and identified bacterial species. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed using different antimicrobial discs by applying the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: Totally, 67 bacterial isolates were obtained from 44 (66%) female and 23 (34%) male patients. Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli were the most common predominant organisms. All isolates were showed a high rate of resistance to evaluated cephalosporins 100% and 87% to cefotaxime and ceftriaxone respectively, while very low resistance recorded in Aminoglycosides 22% and 12% to Gentamicin and amikacin, respectively. Conclusion: These results suggest a constant screening for the detection of antibiotic resistance, as well as developing antimicrobial stewardship programs in Babil, Iraq. Moreover, these bacterial isolates have shown multidrug resistance, mainly to commonly administered drugs that could cause therapy ineffective. Therefore, in clinical use, appropriate treatment should be chosen based on the results obtained from antimicrobial susceptibility tests.