Isolation, Identification, and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains from Various Clinical Samples in a University Hospital in Northern Cyprus

BACKGROUND/AIMSPseudomonas aeruginosa is a severe opportunistic bacterium responsible for frequently lethal nosocomial infections.It is highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics, creating a real challenge in the treatment of nosocomial infections. MATERIALS and METHODSA total of 152 samples were collected from various departments of the hospital, which included wound, blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), sputum, aspiration fluid, and ear, nose, and throat swab samples.The susceptibility pattern of bacteria was determined by using the BD Phoenix 100 automated microbiology system.P. aeruginosa was also identified according to its cultural, microscopic, morphological, and biochemical characteristics. RESULTSSamples were identified by using BD Phoenix 100 and conventional biochemical tests are used for confirmation.The results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that P. aeruginosa was sensitive to piperacillin-tazobactam (92.5%), meropenem (87.2%), colistin (86.7%), ticarcillin-clavulanate (86.6%), amikacin (81.5%), imipenem (80.8%), norfloxacin (79.5%), cefepime (78.4%), ceftazidime (76.0%), gentamicin (76.0%), levofloxacin (73.5%), and ciprofloxacin (73.2%).On the other hand, the resistance rates of amoxicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, cefuroxime, nitrofurantoin, cefoxitin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and ceftriaxone were found to be 100%, 98.7%, 97.7%, 97.7%, 94.7%, 94.7%, and 93.8% respectively.The prevalence of antibiotic susceptibility of P. aeruginosa in Cyprus is more in males (62.5%) than in females (37.5%). CONCLUSIONKnowledge about local antimicrobial resistance patterns of P. aeruginosa is essential for the guidance of empirical therapy by physicians, medical microbiologists, and public health officials.Antimicrobial surveillance should be done periodically to detect current resistance in our local area.