Bacteria That Cause Community-Acquired Urinary Tract Infections and Their Antibiotic Resistance Profiles

INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common community-acquired infectious diseases globally. This study was conducted to contribute to the data of our country by examining the distribution of UTI agents isolated from outpatients and their antibiotic susceptibility results.
METHODS: The positive urine cultures of 24,917 outpatients aged 18 years and older, which were sent to the Istanbul Public Hospitals Services Presidency-2 Central Laboratory between January 2016 and December 2019, and their antibiotic susceptibility results were retrospectively evaluated.
RESULTS: Of the 24,917 uropathogens, 87% were Gram-negative bacteria and 13% were Gram-positive bacteria. The most commonly isolated organisms were Escherichia coli (57%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15%), and Enterococcus spp (12%). E. coli showed high resistance to all antibiotics tested except for aminoglycoside group, carbapenem group, nitrofurantoin, and fosfomycin, while K. pneumoniae showed high resistance to all antibiotics except for aminoglycoside group and carbapenem group. In enterococci, high-level resistance was determined only to gentamicin and ciprofloxacin.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In our study, it was determined that most of the antibiotics used for the treatment of community-acquired UTIs had a higher resistance rate than the recommended 10–20% value for empirical treatment. We think that it is very important to follow region-specific epidemiological data, take the necessary measures, and use antibiotics rationally.