Objective: To find out the antibacterial susceptibility pattern of bacteraemia isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar typhi and paratyphi.
Method: The retrospective descriptive observational study ...was conducted at the Microbiology section of Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory, and comprised blood culture reports from January 1, 2017, to Dec 30, 2020, which were screened for the presence of Salmonella typhi and paratyphi growth The frequency of the isolates and their antibiotic resistance patterns were analysed. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.
Results: Of the 174,190 blood culture samples, 62,709(36%) were positive for bacterial growth. Salmonella were isolated in 8,689(13.8%) samples of which 8,041(92.5%) were Salmonella typhi, 529(6%) were Salmonella paratyphi A and 119(1.3%) were Salmonella paratyphi B. There was a drastic increase in resistance to third-generation cephalosporin in Salmonella typhi from 71(12.8%) in 2017 to 1,420(71%) in 2018, 2,850(74.6%) in 2019 and 1,251(77%) in 2020. All isolates were sensitive to meropenem and azithromycin.
Conclusion: A high number of extensively drug-resistant typhoid cases due to Salmonella typhi were found. All isolates were sensitive to meropenem and azithromycin.
Key Words: Salmonella typhi, Multidrug resistance, Extensively drug-resistant.
Objective: To determine the frequent bacterial pathogens causing blood stream infections in various age brackets, and to discover their antibiotic susceptibility pattern.
Method: The retrospective, ...descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at the microbiology laboratory of Patel Hospital, Karachi, and comprised positive blood culture bacterial isolates analysed between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019. Standard microbiological techniques were employed for the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.
Results: Of the 3450 specimen, 1243(36%) were positive; 668(53.7%) from male and 575(46.3%) from female subjects, and gram-positive 771(62%) and gram-negative 472(38%). Salmonella typhi was the most common pathogen 139(11.1) among gram-negative organisms, followed by acinetobacter species 103(8.2%), escherichia coli 96(7.7%) and klebsiella species 42(3.4%). Among gram-positive bacteria, the predominant isolates were staphylococcus epidermidis 650(52%), staphylococcus aureus 67(5.4%) and enterococci 28(2.3%). Linezolid (99.8%), vancomycin (99%) and chloramphenicol (69%) were found to be the most sensitive antibiotics among gram-positive cocci. Meropenem (60%), amikacin (46%) and gentamicin (40%) were the most sensitive antibiotics for multidrug resistant gram-negative bacteria.
Conclusion: The identification of frequent bacterial pathogens in blood cultures of patients may guide clinicians in proper empirical selection of antibiotics in patients with bacteremia.
Key Words: Blood stream infection, BSI, Antibiotic susceptibility, AST, Bacteriological profile, Multi-drug resistance, MDR.
ObjectiveThe present study is designed to monitor antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Escherichia coli to assist in forecasting empirical therapy of urinary tract infection.MethodologyIt is a ...retrospective cross sectional study. It was carried out at Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory for a period of 3 months from February 2017 to April 2017. A data of total 5000 urine culture and sensitivity test reports was taken from the medical record. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 16.ResultsOut of 5000 urine samples processed, 1565 showed significant bacterial growth. Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen isolated. Meropenem, Amikacin, Fosfomycin and Nitrofurantoin respectively were found to be the most sensitive antibiotics against Escherichia coli.Conclusion Fosfomycin and Nitrofurantoin are effective oral antibiotics against Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infection. The present study may help clinicians in making rational choice of empirical treatment of the patients.
Objective: To determine the frequency of Chikungunya virus infection in the tertiary care hospital of Karachi during the time from 1stJanuary 2017 till 31st December 2018. Study Design: This was a ...retrospective cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Dow Diagnostic Reference and Research Laboratory, Karachi, Pakistan from 1stJanuary 2017 till 31st December 2018. Materials and Methods: Serum of suspected patients of Chikungunya virus infection was separated from venous blood samples and checked for Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against Chikungunya virus infections by applying a micro titer plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay. Data was collected after the approval of Ethical committee of Dow University of Health Sciences by Pacslink software and analysis was accomplished by using Statistical Package for Social Science SPSS version 17.0 for frequencies of age group, gender, and IgM positive Chikungunya virus infection. Results: Out of 4329 venous blood samples collected from suspected patients of Chikungunya virus infection. 1181(27%) showed the presence of IgM of Chikungunya virus (CHKV) infection. Majority of the patients were in the third decade of their lives with median age of 38.74 years. Males were slightly more 605(51%) than female 575(48%) (Table I). Age group 16-44 years showed high prevalence 627(53%) as compared to other age groups (2017-2018) (Figure: 1). Incidence of CHKV was higher in October and November 2017(37.8%), than 2018 (Figure: 2). Conclusion: This study concluded that the frequency of Chikungunya virus Infection was higher during the period from 1st October till 31st November 2017.
To determine the antibacterial susceptibility pattern of bacteraemia isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar typhi and paratyphi.
The retrospective descriptive observational study was conducted at ...the Microbiology section of Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory, and comprised blood culture reports from January 1, 2017, to Dec 30, 2020, which were screened for the presence of Salmonella typhi and paratyphi growth The frequency of the isolates and their antibiotic resistance patterns were analysed. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.
Of the 174,190 blood culture samples, 62,709(36%) were positive for bacterial growth. Salmonella were isolated in 8,689(13.8%) samples of which 8,041(92.5%) were Salmonella typhi, 529(6%) were Salmonella paratyphi A and 119(1.3%) were Salmonella paratyphi B. There was a drastic increase in resistance to third-generation cephalosporin in Salmonella typhi from 71(12.8%) in 2017 to 1,420(71%) in 2018, 2,850(74.6%) in 2019 and 1,251(77%) in 2020. All isolates were sensitive to meropenem and azithromycin.
A high number of extensively drug-resistant typhoid cases due to Salmonella typhi were found. All isolates were sensitive to meropenem and azithromycin.
To determine the frequent bacterial pathogens causing blood stream infections in various age brackets, and to discover their antibiotic susceptibility pattern.
The retrospective, descriptive, ...observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at the microbiology laboratory of Patel Hospital, Karachi, and comprised positive blood culture bacterial isolates analysed between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019. Standard microbiological techniques were employed for the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Data was analysed using SPSS 20.
Of the 3450 specimen, 1243(36%) were positive; 668(53.7%) from male and 575(46.3%) from female subjects, and 771(62%) were gram-positive whereas 472(38%).were gram-negative. Salmonella typhi was the most common pathogen 139(11.1) among gram-negative organisms, followed by Acinetobacter species 103(8.2%), Escherichia coli 96(7.7%) and Klebsiella species 42(3.4%). Among gram-positive bacteria, the predominant isolates were staphylococcus epidermidis 650(52%), staphylococcus aureus 67(5.4%) and enterococci 28(2.3%). Linezolid (99.8%), vancomycin (99%) and chloramphenicol (69%) were found to be the most sensitive antibiotics among gram-positive cocci. Meropenem (60%), amikacin (46%) and gentamicin (40%) were the most sensitive antibiotics for multidrug resistant gram-negative bacteria.
The identification of frequent bacterial pathogens in blood cultures of patients may guide clinicians in proper empirical selection of antibiotics in patients with bacteraemia.
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the world’s most serious health problem. Pakistan is included among high prevalent countries and two outbreaks of HIV have been reported one in 2018, ...in Sargodha (Kot Momin) and the other largest so far in 2019 in Larkana, first time infecting children as well. Therefore, a study was designed to find out the frequency as well as risk factors involved in the transmission of HIV. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study (n=28,679), conducted in the Microbiology laboratory of Dow Diagnostic Reference and Research Laboratory (DDRRL), Karachi, Pakistan from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2019. Serum samples were screened for the presence of HIV antigen and antibody by using HIV combo ARCHITECT i2000 SR, chemiluminescent immunoassay (CMIA). The Chi-square was used to analyze the data and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The total HIV-positive samples were 198 (0.69%). The mean age was 30.39 ± 10.1 with a predominance of males 158 (79.8%) followed by females 39(19.7%) and trans-genders 1(0.5%). The most prevalent ethnic background was Sindhi 40(20.2%) followed by Urdu speaking 32(16.2%). The major risk factors were sexual contact (25%) and surgical procedure (13%). The research found the highest incidence reported in Malir District (17.12%) followed by East (13.63%) and West (11.6%) of Karachi. The most significant association (p<0.001) of HIV was found with age. Conclusion: The male population from the Malir district of Sindhi ethnicity had a high frequency of HIV. Moreover, sexual contact and surgical procedures were found major risk factors for HIV. Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV); Risk Factors; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Epidemic.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility in patients with urinary tract infections. METHODOLOGY: This retrospective study with a cross-sectional design was ...held at Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi; we evaluated records of patients from January to December 2020 at the Department of Microbiology, Dow Diagnostic Reference and Research Laboratory, Karachi, who requested urine culture due to urinary tract infection. Details such as the most common bacteria, specific antibiotic susceptibility and resistance with all demographic information were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 57785 samples were collected, of which 19620 were positive. The highest bacterial contaminations of the urinary region were detected among Females. E.coli remains a dominant pathogen that affects all age groups and genders, followed by Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter and Proteus. The most resistant drugs observed in our study were cefixime and cefuroxime, followed by ampicillin and Cotrimoxazole. The most sensitive and minor resistant drug against isolates is Colistin, followed by Amikacin and nitrofurantoin. CONCLUSION: It is among the studies with significant findings and delivers essential data regarding bacterial trends. Current research can be compared with other studies for antimicrobial susceptibility approaches of pathogens and helps us decide on empirical treatment of UTIs. Parallel analysis should be designed on a large scale in diverse areas and regions, forming empiric antibiotic therapy guidelines according to the local antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, which helps improve patient outcomes and unjudicial antibiotic use.
Miswak is a natural tooth cleaning tool which is being used in many parts of the world since ancient times. It is known to be useful in prevention of dental caries. But still it is not used as ...frequently as other oral hygiene tools. This research was designed to scientifically establish antimicrobial effect of miswak in vitro against common oral pathogens.
This was a cross-sectional study involving 100 health care workers. This research was carried out in Microbiology section of Dow Diagnostic Research & Reference Laboratory. A questionnaire was designed to test oral hygiene habits of study subjects. Oral swabs were taken and microorganisms were identified by standard bacteriological methods. Test material included four different types of miswaks i.e. (1) root of the peelu (Salvadora persica) tree (in packing) (2) root of the peelu tree (without packing) (3) stem of the peelu tree & (4) stem of the neem (Azadirechta indica) tree. These miswaks were tested against three different types of microorganisms isolated from oral swabs: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans & Candida albicans by agar diffusion method. Inhibition zone was measured after 24 hrs of incubation at 37(o)C.
Among the miswaks used, root of the peelu tree in both packing and without packing exhibited strong antimicrobial effect against all three tested microorganisms. However miswak taken from the stem of the peelu and neem tree did not show any antimicrobial activity against all three types of the tested microorganisms.
Miswak taken from the root of the peelu tree exhibited antimicrobial activity against all the common oral pathogens and could be a good oral hygiene tool in combating dental caries.
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