Antibiotic resistance of urinary tract pathogens in Syrian children

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infection in children in Syria. This study was conducted on 48 urine samples from pediatric UTI patients aged from 0 days to 18 years. The ratio female/male UTI patients was 4:1. Escherichia coli was the first cause of UTIs in childhood (63%), followed by Klebsiella pneumonia (25%). A high rate of resistance (≥ 20%) to twelve antibiotics was observed among isolated urine bacteria, while only three antibiotics showed a rate of resistance below 20%. A good in vitro antibacterial activity was observed for amikacin, imipenem and gentamycin against isolated urine bacteria. First and second generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and other agents displayed moderate to high resistance rates and multi-antibiotic resistance was found as well. 98% of urine bacteria isolates were resistant to at least two antibiotics. Our results suggest that the antibiotic susceptibility may vary according to the bacterial infection types, since the comparison of susceptibility between Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia showed a difference of resistance rates.