Postoperative Nosocomial Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Bacteria Isolates among Patients Admitted Al Jalla Hospital

الملخص

Hospital-acquired infections constitute a major public health problem worldwide. Postoperative wound infection can occur on the first day but commonly occurs between the fifth and tenth days after surgery. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of nosocomial pathogens among patients with postoperative wound infections at Al Jalla Hospital in Benghazi, along with the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of pathogens. Wound swabs were collected from 49 patients from May 1, 2023, to May 31, 2023. The cultivation of the sample used three types of media: MacConkey agar, blood agar, and chocolate agar. The inoculated agar plates were incubated aerobically at 370 °C overnight. The other patient’s swab was used for Gram staining smears to make a presumptive diagnosis based on microscopic inspection. Identification of cultured isolates was done according to standard bacteriological techniques. A total of 100 bacterial isolates were identified from surgical sites. Of these isolates, Klebsilla pneumonia and Acinetobacter baumanni were the most frequently detected bacteria (19%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13%), E. coli (7%), Enterobacter cloacae (6%), Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus spp., and Pseudomonas putida (5%), Staphylococcus albus (4%), Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Chryseomonas luteola (3%), while Ochrobacter anthropic, Enterobacter sakazakii, Pantoea agglomerans, Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella oxytocin, and Citrobacter spp. In conclusion, Al Jalla Hospital needs to make a concerted effort to minimise those infections by following strict aseptic operation procedures, effective methods of sterilisation, and patient management, as the bacterial isolates detected in our patients were resistant to commonly available and prescribed antimicrobial drugs.