Antibiotic susceptibility and plasmid pattern of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the surgical unit of a university teaching hospital in north central Nigeria

Abstract

This study determined the susceptibility pattern and multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of 92 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains from clinical samples comprising mainly urine (51.1%) and wounds (41.3%) obtained from the surgical units of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria; over a 24-month period. The strains were susceptible to imipenem (94.6%), ciprofloxacin (90.2%), amikacin (89.1%) and ceftazidime (78.3%) but resistant to ofloxacin (82.6%), perfloxacin (58.7%) and gentamicin (35.8%). Analysis of the MAR index of isolates revealed that 60.9% had MAR index of 0.3 and above, which is an indication of probable origin from the hospital environment where antibiotics are extensively used. A strict management of antibiotic policies and a continuous surveillance programme for multidrug resistant pathogens like P. aeruginosa in specialised units is advocated.