Antibiotic sensitivity of isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Enugu, Nigeria

The pattern of antibiotic sensitivity of 229 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated between June 1998 and May 2000 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu was studied. The isolates were recovered from various clinical specimens by culturing on standard media viz: blood agar, macConkey agar and Cled agar and identified by routine procedures. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were performed by the disc diffusion technique employing multidisc (habdisc) and using sensitivity test agar incubated at 370C for 24 hours. The results were read and interpreted according to the manufacturer's instructions. Majority of the isolates tested were susceptible to Ceftazidime (88.5%), Colistin (83.75%), Ciprofloxacine (62.1%) and Ofloxacin (62.5%). Non-urinary isolates were more sensitive than the urinary isolates to of floxacine, Gentamycin, Streptomycin, Ceftriaxine and Cephtazidime. Similar incidence of resistance was observed between the two groups to other antibiotics. Efforts must be made to improve infection control practises, improve antimicroial utilization practices and establish an antibiotic policy for the country. (Af. J. of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology: 2003 4(1): 48-51