Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most prevalent infections in both men and women. The most common causative organisms are Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., and Staphylococcus spp. UTIs are diagnosed using various diagnostic methods with urine culture as the gold standard. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of UTIs, compare the tools employed in the diagnosis of UTIs, and assess the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates among patients in a local health facility in Kumasi, Ghana. A cohort of 208 participants were enlisted for a cross-sectional study at the HopeXchange Medical Centre, Kumasi. Mid-stream urine samples were collected from participants and analyzed by culture, microscopy, and dipstick methods. Culture isolates were tested on Mueller-Hinton Agar applying the Kirby Bauer method against a range of antibiotics. The prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. (25%) and Klebsiella spp. (16.7%) were higher than that of Escherichia coli (8.3%). UTI was more common in individuals between 50 and 59 years of age (36.5%) and mostly associated among women (76.9%). Overall, culture confirmed UTI prevalence was 23.08% while dispstick and microscopy diagnosed 44.23% and 47.60% of UTIs, respectively. Microscopy exhibited a sensitivity of 68.8% and specificity of 58.8% while the dipstick had a sensitivity of 60.4% and specificity of 60.6% compared to urine culture. Meropenem showed 100% susceptibility, while high resistance was observed for chloramphenicol and ceftriaxone against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., Providencia spp., and Klebsiella spp. UTI was significantly associated with age, gender, and the standard diagnostic method (p < 0.05).
Antwi‐Boasiako et al. (Wed,) studied this question.