BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE TRENDS IN BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OF SUSPECTED BACTERIAL MENINGITIS PATIENTS AT HYDERABAD, SINDH.

Abstract

Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. It is a devastating infectious disease with a high morbidity and mortality rate worldwide. The present study aimed to study the bacteriological profiling of CSF samples and the evaluation of antibiotic susceptibility patterns of common bacterial isolates of CSF. A total of 681 CSF samples were collected from patients suspected of bacterial meningitis through Lumbar puncture and processed for bacteriological analysis. Bacterial isolation and identification were carried out by using conventional microbiological methods including cultural, microscopic, biochemical, and immunological tests. Gender-wise distribution revealed that 59.32% (n=404) of samples were from male and 40.68% (n=277) belonged to female patients. The culture positivity of CSF samples showed that out of 681 samples 5.73% (n=39) yielded bacterial growth, while 94.27% (n=642) were sterile. It was observed that microbial infection of CSF was more common in patients aged below one year accounting for 44.93%. Gram-negative bacteria were more common with 87.18% while the Gram-positive bacteria were less prevalent in CSF samples with 12.82% prevalence. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the dominant with 30.77% of total isolated bacteria, followed by Pseudomonas spp. and E. coli. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing data revealed that Colistin, Piperacillin/Tazobactam and Meropenem were highly effective against K. pneumoniae, E. coli and Pseudomonas spp., respectively. In summary, the proper diagnosis and empirical treatment of bacterial meningitis can be achieved by AST and culturing CSF specimens