Antimicrobial resistance: capacity and practices among clinical laboratories in Kenya, 2013

Abstract

The laboratories comprised; 2(25%) national, 4(50%) sub-national and 2(25%) district. Overall, antimicrobial susceptibility testing capacity was inadequate in all. Seven (88%) had basic capacity for stool cultures, 3(38%) had capacity for blood culture. Resistance to enteric organisms was observed with the following and other commonly prescribed antimicrobials, ampicillin: 40(91%) Salmonella spp isolates; Tetracycline: 16(84%) Shigella flexineri isolates; cotrimoxazole: 20(100%) Shigella spp isolates, 24(91%) Salmonella spp isolates. Comparable patterns of multidrug resistance were evident with Shigella flexineri and Salmonella typhimurium. Ten (100%) clinicians reported not using laboratory results for patient management, for various reasons.