Abstract

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PROFILES OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE OF BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN LEBANON

Hassan Khalife*, Ilham Khalife, Fadi Abdel-Sater and Hala Khalife*

ABSTRACT

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are considered one of the most common global bacterial infections, affecting 150 million people each year worldwide. UTIs are caused by both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as by certain fungi. Up to 80% of urine infections are caused by gram negative bacteria. The most common pathogen is Escherichia coli and resistance rates to some antibiotics depend on the geographical location. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive view of the epidemiologic characteristics of UTIs among the Lebanese population living in Beirut. Nine hundred seventy-eight individuals, aged between 1 to 80 years, had submitted a urine sample. We identified 196 patients with UTI. The results indicated that the overall prevalence of UTI in the area of our study was 20.4%. Our results revealed a significant association between UTI and gender. The women are more common to have UTIs. The E.coli bacteria are responsible for up to 85% of UTI. A very significant association was found between resistance and the antibiotic. The most of bacteria are more sensitive to “ipinem” and more resistant to penicillin respect with other antibiotics while the resistance to antibiotic is age dependant with certain antibiotics. Since this study involved only out patients, further studies should be conducted on inpatients in order to find the prevalence of other uropathogenes in the study area.

Keywords: Urinary tract infections, antibiotics, epidemiology, Lebanon.