Abstract

COMMON AEROBIC BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM DIABETIC FOOT ULCER AND THEIR ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING

Tamalli M*, M.A.B. Gamal and Alghazal M. A.

ABSTRACT

Background: Magnitude of diabetes mellitus is increasing globally at an alarming rate. About 150-170 million populations are suffering from this disease worldwide and the prevalence of diabetes will be double by 2025 as per WHO reports. Foot infections in diabetes are rarely due to a single organism. Aerobic bacteria (Staphylococcus spp.,Streptococcus spp., and some species of Enterobacteriaceae), anaerobic flora (Bacteroides spp., Clostridium spp., and Peptostreptococci spp.), and some fungi are isolated most often. Objectives: To investigate the aerobic bacteriological profile of diabetic foot ulcers and to find out the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated bacteria. Materials and methods: The study included 50 wound samples were collected from patients suffered from type 1 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and type2 non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus admitted to Alkums teaching hospital during the period of June to December 2013. Swab was collected from ulcer and has been cultured in media of Blood agar and MacConkey agar and identification of the isolated bacteria by biochemical tests and indicators. Antibiotic susceptibility test is done according to Kirby-Bauer disc-agar diffusion method to eight commonly used antibiotics. Results and discussion: The results indicate that common pathogen isolates from the diabetic pus included Pseudomonas aeruginosae, Staphylococcus aureus followed by E. coli and Proteus mirabilis. It was obvious that, Pseudomonas aeruginosae isolates were highly resistant to most tested antibiotics except amikacin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and gentamicin. Ciprofloxacin and Rifampicin are more active against E. coli followed by gentamycin. Ofloxacin is more active against Staphylococcus aureus followed by gentamycin and amipcillin. Amikacin is active against Proteus mirabilis followed by gentamycin and erythromycin. Conclusion: Appropriate antibiotic therapy is an essential part of diabetic foot ulcer management.

Keywords: Antibiotic sensitivity, Diabetes mellitus, Khums, Libya.