Antimicrobial susceptibility of microorganisms causing Urinary Tract Infections in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) is one of the most common infections worldwide. UTIs remain a challenge to the healthcare system because of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study is to report the most common UTI-causative organisms associated with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: a retrospective cross sectional study of 1918 positive urine culture samples of both gender collected over 9 months (May 2015 to February 2016) from a major tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Results: the median age of individuals involved in the study was 43 years, with males constituting 27.7% only of the population. Among cases deemed complicated (81.1%), common causes were diabetes, pregnancy, and immunocompromization, comprising 24.7%, 11.9%, and 10.8%, respectively. Escherichia coli (52%) was the most common uropathogen, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (15%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8%) Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B streptococcus) (7%), and Enterococcus faecalis (5%). Overall sensitivity studies showed the most highly resistant uropathogen was Escherichia coli (60%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (16%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4%) Enterococcus faecalis (3%), and Enterobacter cloacae (2%). Concerning the first defense antibiotics prescribed for UTI, E. coli was most frequently resistant to Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (47%) followed by ciprofloxacin (34%). K. pneumoniae was most frequently resistant to Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (35%) followed by cefuroxime (30%), while P. aeruginosa to ciprofloxacin (13%).

Conclusion: Because of a high level of antimicrobial resistance amongst uropathogens in Saudi Arabia, the development of regional and national UTI guidelines is recommended.