Commonly Occurring Bacteria in Diabetic Foot Infections and their Sensitivity to various Antibiotics

Abstract

Background: Diabetic foot infections are a common cause of morbidity in type 1 & 2 Diabetes mellitus. The selection of appropriate empirical treatment is thus essential while treating such patients. The main objective of this study was to find out most prevalent bacteria and their sensitivity to various antibiotics in patients with diabetic foot infections.
Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad from January 2017 to December 2017. A total 118 patients were included through consecutive sampling technique. Samples were collected in the form of swab, pus or tissue material and were cultured on blood agar and microorganisms were identified using standard microbiological methods. Antimicrobial sensitivity was also checked. Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used to analyze data.
Results: Out of 118 patients, 72% (n=85) were males while 28% (n=33) were females. Cultures of 105 patients were positive and most common organisms isolated were S. aureus (32.4%; n=34), E. coli (17.1%; n=18), P. aeruginosa (14.3%; n=15), Polymicrobials (14.3%; n=15) and K. pneumoniae (7.6%; n=8). Antibiotics to which organisms were most sensitive included Piperacillin/Tazobactam (69.5%; n=73), Imipenem (55.2%; n=58), Amikacin (43.8%; n=46), Vancomycin (40%; n=42) and Levofloxacin (38.1%; n=40).
Conclusion: Most common organisms causing diabetic foot infections in our study were S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, Polymicrobial and Klebsiella. Overall most sensitive antibiotics to these organisms included Piperacillin/Tazobactam, Imipenem,Amikacin, Vancomycin and Levofloxacin.