Abstract

A study of the antibiotic resistance pattern of Staphylococcus aureus from the nasal cavities of patients with pneumonia attending the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria was conducted. The survey revealed S. aureus to be the most predominant cause of Staphylococcal pneumonia with an occurrence rate of 38.5%. Other microorganisms encountered includedStaphylococcus epididermis , Streptococcus viridans and Brahamella catarrhalis . Patients in age group 1 - 5 years had the highest incidence rate of 60 and 53.8% in males and females, respectively, while patients within ages 11 - 30 years had the least incidence. There was no significant difference between the rate of occurrence of staphylococcal preumonia in males and females at p > 0.05. High resistance levels was recorded towards tetracycline (100%), chloramphenicol (95%), erythromycin (85%) and ampicillin (80%) while moderate resistance levels was recorded towards saprfloxacin (60%), ciprofloxacin (45%), gentamycin (40%) and ofloxacin (20%). The observation in the study, calls for need for effective surveillance of antibiotic resistance.

Key words:  Antibiotic resistance, Staphylococcus aureus, nasal cavities, pneumonia