Antibiotic Resistance Properties of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated From Cases of Superficial Infections at the Emergency Unit

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen, is one of the main causative agents of human superficial infections. Infections due to these bacteria are difficult to heal and cause serious economic issues. OBJECTIVES: The present study was carried out to investigate the antibiotic resistance pattern of P. aeruginosa isolated from cases of superficial infections referred to the emergency health care units of Iranian Hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three hundred swab samples were collected from patients with superficial infections. Samples were cultured and those that were P. aeruginosa positive were analyzed by the disk diffusion method. RESULTS: One hundred and seventy-two out of 300 swab samples (57.3%) were positive for P. aeruginosa. The results of the culture technique were also confirmed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Females had a higher prevalence of P. aeruginosa than males, patients older than 70 years were the most infected age group and finally burn infections had the highest prevalence of bacteria. P. aeruginosa strains had the highest levels of resistance against ampicillin (93%), gentamycin (89.5%), ciprofloxacin (82.5%) and amikacin (77.3%). The most effective drugs were meropenem (2.3%, imipenem (2.9%), polymyxin B (21.5%) and cotrimoxazole (31.9%). CONCLUSIONS: It is logical to primarily prescribe meropenem, imipenem, polymyxin B and cotrimoxazole in the cases of superficial infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Medical practitioners should be aware of the presence of such levels of antibiotic resistance in cases of superficial infections in Iran.