Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common human infections. Many urinary tract bacteria are capable of expressing drug resistance. Resistant bacteria may be present from the commencement of the infection or may develop during treatment. This study focused on the problem of antibiotic resistance to the first-line drugs that were used to treat patients presenting with urinary tract infections at Rubaga hospital in Kampala, Uganda.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to isolate and identify the major bacterial pathogens of symptomatic and asymptomatic UTIs among patients at Rubaga hospital. Furthermore, the study sought to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the major bacterial isolates to the first-line drugs used to treat UTIs at Rubaga hospital.
Methods: Urine samples were aseptically collected and examined microscopically and were microbiologically cultured on blood agar, nutrient agar and on MacConkey agar. The isolates obtained were then identified using standard tests and tested for antimicrobial sensitivity by the Kirby-Bauer technique.
Results: The isolated pathogens included
Escherichia coli
(10.9%),
Staphylococcus
(31.9%),
Streptococcus
(9.2%),
Klebsiella
species (21.0%) and
Proteus
species (10.1%). 20 (16.8%) of the isolates were lactose fermenting gram-negative rods that were also indole-negative. These isolates were termed `unclassified coliforms' in this study but were probably Enterobacter species. On antimicrobial susceptibility testing, all the gram-negative isolates were significantly resistant to amoxycillin, cotrimoxazole, erythromycin, and to nalidixic acid; but were susceptible to nitrofurantoin. Among the gram-negative isolates, only
Klebsiella species were significantly resistant (p<0.05) to ciprofloxacin. The gram-positive cocci were susceptible to amoxycillin, ciprofloxacin, and to erythromycin but resistant to cotrimoxazole and nalidixic acid. Unlike the
Staphylococcus species that were significantly resistant to nitrofurantoin,
Streptococcus species were moderately susceptible to the drug.
Conclusion: The common urinary tract bacteria detected in Rubaga hospital in Uganda were most sensitive to Ciprofloxacin and Nitrofurantoin.
