ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTION AND RESISTANCE OF ANTIBIOTIC TO PATHOGENS ISOLATED FROM THE PEDIATRIC PATIENTS

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiology and changes in children's sensitivity to antibacterial drugs, and to lay the foundations for rational drug use. Place and Duration: In the Department of Pediatrics Unit-II of Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi and POF Hospital Wah Cantt for three-year duration from November 2017 to October 2020. Methods: The distribution and pattern of drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria isolated from children were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 573 strains of pathogens were grown. A total of 201 (35.07%) strains of gram-positive cocci and 183 (31.93%) strains of gram-negative cocci were detected. A total of 189 (32.98%) fungal strains were detected. The Staphylococcus resistance rate to penicillin was 100% and to erythromycin 90.69%. There were varying degrees of resistance to other drugs, but no single strain showed resistance to vancomycin. Gram-negative rods were generally resistant to ampicillin, but showed low resistance to complex preparations of enzyme inhibitors, quinolones and aminoglycosides, and were very sensitive to imipenem and meropenem. Conclusion: Gram-negative rods are the main pathogens of bacterial infections in the pediatric ward. Enhancing the monitoring of the clinical distribution of bacteria in pediatric clinical isolates and understanding changes in drug resistance are important to guide rational use of antibiotics. These measures can also prevent the emergence and spread of resistant strains. Key words: epidemiology, pattern of drug resistance, isolated pathogenic bacteria