Antibiotic Susceptibilities of Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Urine Samples in a Tertiary Hospital in Eastern Turkey

Objective: Escherichia coli is the most common cause of urinary tract infections. The increase and spread of resistance to antibiotics is a serious problem in our country as well as in the world. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of E.coli strains that cause urinary tract infection. Method: The antibiotic susceptibilities of 1850 E.coli strains isolated from urine samples of patients who applied to Urology service and outpatient clinics of Malatya Education and Research Hospital, which is a tertiary care hospital in eastern part of Turkey, over the 3 years between July 2016 and July 2019, were evaluated retrospectively from computer records using the Vitek 2.0 Compact automated system (BioMérieux, France). Antibiogram results were classified as susceptible, moderately susceptible and resistant. Result: Of the total 1850 samples, 1300 (70.3%) were female and 550 (29.7%) were male, with a mean age of 52 (18-104) years. 73 (3.9%) of the patients were inpatients and 1777 were outpatients. All the isolated E.coli strains were found to be susceptible to ampicillin 39.2%, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 67.9%, piperacillin-tazobactam 80.8%, cefuroxime 67.1%, cefotaxime 68.8%, cefixime 67.7%, ceftazidime 71.2%, cefepime 73.9%, ertapeneme 97.9%, imipeneme 99.5%, meropeneme 99.7%, amikacin 89.7%, gentamicin 78.4%, norfloxacine 65.8%, ciprofloxacine 65.9%, nitrofurantoin 94.2% and fosfomycin 96.5%. Resistance rates were higher in inpatients as compared to outpatients. Antibiotic susceptibilities were found to be decreased in different age ranges with increasing age. Conclusion: When selecting the antimicrobial treatment in community-acquired UTIs, considering the antimicrobial resistance data in the region, the choice of cost-effective treatment with high patient compliance and low resistance rates will increase treatment success. It is thought that antibiotic treatment should be determined according to the results of culture antibiograms, especially in nosocomial infections due to high resistance rates.