Bacteria Colonisation and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Wound Infections in a Hospital in Abeokuta

Previous studies done on the microbial pattern of wound infections in Nigeria have revealed a high diversity of organisms and a high rate of isolation. In Abeokuta, Ogun State, there is a general lack of research data on wound infections leaving a huge knowledge gap in this regard. We therefore carried out a retrospective study from April 2009 to March 2010, on the rate of isolation and antibiotic sensitivity profile of wound infections at the Federal Medical Center Abeokuta. A total of 209 wound swabs were retrospectively studied, for colonial characteristics, gram reaction and antibiotic susceptibility. An isolation rate of 177(84.7%) was recorded with gender distribution of male 105(50.2%), female 104(49.8%), age group 16 to 30 gave 71(34.0%) and above 60, 21(10.0%). The bacteria isolation pattern was Pseudomonas aeruginosa 45(25.4%), E coli 42(23.8%), Klebseilla sp 36(20.3%), Proteus sp 28(15.8%) and Staphylococcus aureus 26(14.7%). Gentamycin was the most susceptible with a frequency of 40.0% followed by Ofloxacin 16.0%, 99.0% resistance was recorded for Ampicillin and Erythromycin gave 92.0% resistance to all isolates. The high diversity of organism and poor susceptibility pattern signifies the need for proper infection control and laboratory investigation of all patients presenting with wound infections.