Abstract

Objective: To determine prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the E. coli isolated from urine in our setup, especially in low income group of population.
Methodology: The study was carried out from July 2010 to June 2011 at surgical and urological units of a hospital in Islamabad. E.coli were isolated from urine specimens by following standard microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed by using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion techniques according to CLSI guidelines.
Results: The prevalence of E. coli isolated from urine samples was 28.22%. Highest resistance was seen against ampicillin (80.3%). Imipenem was found out to be highly effective.
Conclusion: Imipenem, ciprofloxacin and sparfloxacin can be reliably used against E. coli causing urinary tract infections. Gentamicin and moxifloxacin also showed satisfactory results.

Key words: Escherichia coli, Urinary tract infections, Ciprofloxacin, Imipenem