Prevalence and Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from various clinical specimen in a tertiary care hospital of Tripura

Klebsiella pneumoniae are common causative agents of nosocomial and community acquired infections and are leading causes of morbidity and mortality. This study gives an account of isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae from various clinical specimens and their antibiogram, in this geographical area of North East India. Various clinical samples like sputum, urine, pus and blood sent to Microbiology laboratory were processed for isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae followed by their antibiogram. Out of 2273 samples that yielded positive culture, 29.5% isolates were identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae. The highest yield of Klebsiella pneumoniae (46.7%) were observed from sputum and other lower respiratory tract secretions followed by blood (31.3%). Most of the isolates were sensitive to Imipenem (91.5%) followed by Piperacillin tazobactum (88.1%), Amikacin (86.3%) and Cefoperazone-sulbactum (83.1%). Multi-drug resistance were observed in 21.5% isolates. Klebsiella pneumoniae can be stated as the major cause of lower respiratory infections followed by septicemia in young children. As majority of the infections were diagnosed in hospitalized patients, it indicates that Klebsiella pneumoniae is a potent nosocomial pathogen in our hospital. Amikacin and Cefoperazone sulbactum represents the choice of first line therapy for treatment of infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae in this geographical area.