Profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated from sputum samples in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Wide range of pathogens are responsible for causing lower respiratory tract infection and it is a leading cause of human disease-causing high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Excessive and irrational use of antibiotics leads in developing of resistance in gram positive and gram-negative organisms, thus resulting in the emergence of pathogens which are difficult to treat. Objective: Aim of the study was to isolate bacteria causing lower respiratory tract infection and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns from sputum sample in a tertiary care hospital Materials and Methods: All sputum samples submitted for culture from 01 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024 were collected from patients attending People’s Hospital, Bhopal using the standard sampling technique. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of microbial isolates was performed according to the guidelines issued by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Results: The most commonly isolated pathogen was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=35) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=28), Escherichia coli (n=25), Staphylococcus aureus (n=25), and Acinetobacterbaumanii (n=15) Pseudomonas aeruginosa was susceptible to most of the drugs and showed resistance towards gentamicin (48.6%) and ciprofloxacin (54.3%). It showed (100%) susceptibility to aztreonam and meropenem. Escherichia coli was 100% resistant towards ampicillin, co-trimoxazole, cefixime, and doxycycline. Least resistance was seen to piperacillin/ tazobactam (92%), cefepime (84%), imipenem (92%) and gentamicin (88%). Conclusion:This study revealed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia were the commonest isolated organism from the sputum samples of patients suffering from lower respiratory tract infections. There were a significantly high proportion of patients who were affected by drug resistant strains. Before starting empirical antibiotics on patients with moderate to severe lower respiratory tract infections, it is always advisable to obtain sputum for culture and antibiotic sensitivity test.