Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Patients of Respiratory Tract Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi

Objectives: The current study was aimed to investigate pathogen burden and antimicrobial susceptibility of conventional use antibiotics against MDR P. aeruginosa Design: In vitro Preclinical study Patients & Methods: Sputum samples were collected by using non probability sampling technique from in-door and out-door patients; total 560 sputum samples were collected. Standard and specific microbiological methods were used to identify the clinical isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined by using Kirby Bauer Disc-diffusion method. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines 2019 were used to process the samples. Results: About 155 samples were positive for P. aeruginosa, out of which 95 were positive for MDR P. aeruginosa. Analysis of demographic data showed 39 (n=41%) female and 56 (n=59%) male patients. Majority cases were obtained from 41-60 years of age group, with p- value <0.02. Antibiogram showed resistance pattern of MDR against empirical and conventionally used antibiotics. Highest sensitivity was recorded against Ceftolozane/Tazobactamthat is 94% and highest resistance recorded against Amikacin 48%, followed by Ceftazidime 34%. Conclusion: Ceftolozane/Tazobactam could be an alternative treatment option for MDR P. aeruginosa infections.