Bacteriological Spectrum of Surgical Wound Infections

Objective: Isolation common bacterial pathogens from surgical wounds and there antimicrobial sensitivity resistance pattern against widely used antibiotics. Materials and Methods: A total of hundred samples of pus wound swabs were collected from surgical wards of Jinnah Hospital Lahore. Samples were cultured on blood and MacConkey agar. Organisms were identified on colonial morphology, gram staining, and biochemical tests. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method against isolates. Results: Out of 100 cases, 67% (n=67) were male and 33% (n=33) were female. Mean age was 31+13 years. Bacterial growth was obtained from only 84% (n=84) cases. Among total isolates, Staphylococcus aureus was 16.6% (n=14) followed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 8.3% (n=7), and Staphylococcus species 5.9% (n=5) Pseudomonas species 22.6% (n=19) followed by E.coli 15.4% (n=13), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 10.7% (n= 9), Proteus species 8.3% (n=7), Klebsiella species 4.7% (n=4), Acinetobacter species 3.5% (n=3), Enterobacter species 2.3% (n=2), and Citrobacter species 1.1% (n=1). Tazocin, Sulzone, Cefoperazone, Ceftazidime, and Gentamicin were found to be the most effective drugs against Pseudomonas species, E.coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa while Aztreonam showed maximum resistance to Pseudomonas species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Staphylococcus aureus showed resistance against Clindamycin, Erythromycin, Cefoxitin and Augmentin. Conclusion: Gram negative pathogens are the most common cause of post-operative wound infections, with emergence of drug resistance against commonly used antimicrobial drugs.