Abstract

Presence of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) is increasingly being reported. In the present study we reported the prevalence of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus causing Surgical Site Infections (SSI) in a tertiary care hospital. Pus from surgical site wound was cultured and Enterococcus species was identified as standard microbiological methods. The antimicrobial susceptibility for Vancomycin was determined by Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) by broth dilution method. Patients (n = 2566) who had undergone surgery were included in the study. Enterococcus species had grown in cultures in 112 (4.3%) patients. Vancomycin resistance was observed in 9 isolates (8.03%). The rampant use of higher antibiotics in hospital has already paved way for multi drug resistance. The presence of Vancomycin Resistance must caution both physicians as well as hospital administrators on the urgent need for stringent hospital infection control programmes.

 Key words: Vancomycin resistant enterococcus, VRE, surgical site infection.