Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Bacterial Isolates in Patients with Urinary Tract Infections in a Reference Center in Bucaramanga

Introduction. Among the bacterial infections that affect human beings, urinary tract infections are one of the most common, affecting up to 150 million people worldwide each year. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics and their improper handling has generated an increase in microbial resistance. This study's objective is to describe the phenotypic patterns of antimicrobial resistance of the most frequent microorganisms in patients with urinary tract infection diagnoses in a reference center in Bucaramanga. Methodology. A cross-sectional study with non probability sampling on patients with suspected or diagnosed urinary tract infections who required hospital treatment at a high-complexity health institution during July, 2017 and April, 2018, from whom urine cultures and antibiograms were obtained. Results. Out of 120 patients, a report was obtained for 116 urine cultures. The most frequent microorganism was Escherichia coli, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae. The former presented high sensitivity to carbapenem antibiotics and aminoglycosides and low sensitivity to Ceftriaxone and Ampicillin/Sulbactam. On the other hand, the microorganism Klebsiella pneumoniae presented high sensitivity to carbapenem antibiotics, but elevated resistance to Ceftriaxone and Ampicillin/Sulbactam. The empiric antibiotic used most was Ceftriaxone. Discussion. The distribution of isolated microorganisms is comparable to that which has been described nationally and internationally. Antimicrobial resistance profiles have points in common, such as resistance to beta-lactams, but differ in some aspects, such as resistance to cephalosporins and quinolones. Conclusions. Isolated microorganisms present high rates of resistance to beta-lactams and cephalosporins, which are widely used. This information must guide developing protocols that allow optimizing clinical decisionmaking with respect to antibiotic therapy.