Common Uropathogens That Cause Utis In Enugu Area And Their Sensitivity To Ciprofloxacin

Introduction: The study aims at assessing the common bacterial agents causing urinary tract infections (UTI) in Enugu and environs and to examine the incidence of Ciprofloxacin resistance in the strains of bacteria isolated from patients suspected to have UTI over an 18 month period. Methods: Ciprofloxacin was evaluated along with other commonly used antibiotics against a total of 147 bacterial isolates obtained in pure cultures from urine samples. The patients were all out-patients seen attending urban and rural health centres in Enugu and environs with signs and symptoms suggestive of UTI. The antibiogram was done using the disk difference method. Results: Among the tested antibiotics, high resistance was recorded for Ciprofloxacin for almost all isolates – Staph saprophyticus (30.6%), Pseudomonas aereginosa (25%), Proteus spp (25%), Klebsiella spp (22.9%), Enterobacter (18.3%), E. coli (16.1%) and Enterococcus faecalis (15%). A general trend which was even higher was recorded for most other tested drugs for the UTI isolates. Conclusion: The study suggests an emergence of resistance of Ciprofloxacin among UTI pathogens and for practically other antibiotics. The worrisome increased resistance against Ciprofloxacin must demand a more serious and coordinated scrutiny and monitoring of the quality of these drugs and their rational use.