Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae Collected from Patients with Wounds at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Prevalence and sensitivity trends of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from septic wounds were determined through a prospective cross sectional study. One hundred and fifteen specimens isolated from in-patients in the Department of Orthopaedics were studied and antibiotic sensitivity testing performed using the Kirby and Bauer disc diffusion technique. The prevalence of organisms isolated was Proteus spp (33.9%), Eschericia coli (13.2%), Klebsiella spp (7.9%), Alcaligenes (1.7%), Citrobacter freundii (0.9%), Serratia spp (0.9%) and Acinetobacter baumanii (0.9%). The sensitivity rate of ceftriaxone, ceftazidime and ciprofloxacin was above 70% in all cases. Co-amoxiclav, gentamicin, cefuroxime, minocycline and piperacillin showed moderate to high activity. Klebsiella spp isolates portrayed high resistance against several drugs. The sensitivity patterns showed that empirical prescribing should be discouraged since the organisms appear to be developing resistance against commonly used antibiotics.