Abstract

Catheter-related infections (CRIs) by bacterial pathogens are the frequent cause of nosocomial infections in hospitalized pediatric patients. The undertaken study was carried out at two different time duration in 2005 and 2011 to determine the changing trend in bacterial pathogens isolated from catheters and their antimicrobial susceptibility in children. Patients implanted with endotracheal tube (ETT), peritoneal dialysis catheter (PDC), urinary catheters (UC) and central venous catheters (CVC) were included in this study. The prevalence of the organism causing CRI and its antibiotic susceptibility was determined using standard microbiological assay. In the present study, the most frequent catheter colonizing bacteria in 2005 were Pseudomonas spp. 30% (n = 30) followed byKlebsiella spp. 27% (n = 27) and Escherichia coli 27% (n = 27). In contrast, the most frequently isolated pathogens in 2011 were found to be Klebsiella spp. 34.7% (n = 40), followed by E. coli 25.2% (n = 29) and Pseudomonas spp. 15.6 % (n = 18). Beside these commonly isolated pathogens, we have also isolated Acinetobacter spp. 9.57% (n = 11),Enterobacter spp. 5.21% (n = 6) and Citrobacter spp. 0.86% (n = 1) in 2011. A significant increase in the resistance of Gram negative bacteria to amikacin, co-amoxiclav, cefixime and cefpriome was documented from 2005 to 2011. On the other hand, in 2011, the resistance of Gram positive bacteria to amikacin, co-amoxiclav, fusidic acid and teicoplanin was significantly increased. The isolation of causative agents of CRIs and the antibiogram of these pathogens may be helpful for a more appropriate and optimized treatment with potential benefits for the patients as well as for the rationale antibiotic policy.

Key words: Catheter related infections, antimicrobial susceptibility, pediatric, nosocomial infection