Bacteriological Profile of Orthopedic Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Bengaluru

BACKGROUND In developing countries, the problem of changes in pathogenic microbial flora and the emergence of bacterial resistance have created major problems in the management of orthopedic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the type of bacterial pathogens isolated from surgical site infection (SSI), open fractures and non-operative wound infections in our hospital and their antibiotic sensitivity profiles. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted in the department of microbiology, RajaRajeswari Medical College & Hospital, Bengaluru, over a period of 1 year from February 2014 to January 2015. During this period around 195 samples received as surgical site infection, from open fracture and wound infected cases. Standard microbiological techniques were used to isolate and identify the organisms and to determine the antibiotic resistance pattern. RESULTS 45.13 % (88/195) specimens showed culture positivity. Surgical site infection rate was 46.59 % (41/88). The age of patients ranged from 1 year to 75 years with a mean age of 39 years. The most commonly isolated organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (40.90 %), Escherichia coli (15.9 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13.6 %).12.5 % of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin resistant. All Staphylococci were susceptible to vancomycin, linezolid and teicoplanin. All gram negative bacilli were sensitive to colistin and tigecycline. CONCLUSION High rates of antibiotic resistance observed in our study, due to widespread usage of broad spectrum antibiotics. While deciding antibiotic therapy many factors must be considered like previous antibiotic history, knowledge of most common causative organism in these infections, and their antibiotic profile.