Introduction: Urinary tract infections are common in both hospital and community settings and impose a significant financial burden. Among Enterobacterales, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are the leading uropathogens. The rise of carbapenem-resistant strains is concerning due to limited treatment options, with carbapenems often being the last line resort. This study intends to determine the microbiological profile of E. coli and K. pneumoniae uropathogens obtained from a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A prospective study was conducted from October 2023 to June 2024 in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India. Urine samples received for routine culture in the central laboratory were processed following standard microbiological protocols. Bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed using the VITEK-2 compact system. A total of 958 isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae were obtained. Of these, 198 were identified as carbapenem-resistant as per the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute 2023 guidelines. Results: Of the 7,228 urine samples processed, 4,336 (60%) were gram-positive and 1,552 (35.80%) were gram-negative bacteria. Among gram-negative bacteria, 1,209 (77.88%) belonged to Enterobacterales, of which 562 (36.21%) were E. coli and 396 (25.51%) were K. pneumoniae. 147 (5.38%) were carbapenem-resistant E. coli and 85 (3.11%) were carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Both carbapenem-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae showed sensitivity to fosfomycin and nitrofurantoin. Conclusions: Urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are frequent, but carbapenem-resistant strains pose an emerging therapeutic challenge. This study highlights the prevalence and effective antibiotic options.
Verma et al. (Thu,) studied this question.