investigation the antibiotic resistance of the escherichia coli isolated from gastroenteritis cases in shahrekord county

background and aims: escherichia coli are one of the important causes of diarrhea in children, adult and immune compromised ones in developing country. the aim of this study was to investigate the antibiotic resistance of e. coli isolated from gastroenteritis cases in shahrekord county, in order to obtain a rapid and suitable treatment. methods: in this descriptive analytical study, 234 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic patients during 2011-2012. bacteriological and biochemical tests were used to identify e. coli. antibiotic resistance of the isolates was assessed by disk diffusion method. results: the results showed that the minimal resistance was to gentamycin (0%) and the maximal resistance was for trimethoprim (79.8%). the resistance for sulfametoxazole, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline were 71%, 52.6%, 10.5%, 7%, 3.5%, 3.5% respectively. also the results revealed that the single, double, triple and tetraple antibiotic resistance among the isolates were 17.5%, 39.5%, 38.6% and 4.4% respectively. conclusion: according to the results of this study ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime are suitable antibiotics for treatment of e. coli enteric infections in this area.