High rates of multidrug resistance among uropathogenic Escherichia coli in children and analyses of ESBL producers from Nepal

Emergence of Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing causing urinary tract infections (UTI) among pediatric patients is an increasing problem worldwide. However, very little is known about pediatric urinary tract infections and antimicrobial resistance trend from Nepal. This study was conducted to assess the current antibiotic resistance rate and ESBL production among uropathogenic in pediatric patients of a tertiary care teaching hospital of Nepal. A total of 5,484 urinary tract specimens from children suspected with UTI attending a teaching hospital of Nepal over a period of one year were processed for the isolation of bacterial pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility testing. ( = 739), the predominant isolate in pediatric UTI, was further selected for the detection of ESBL-production by phenotypic combination disk diffusion test. Incidence of urinary tract infection among pediatric patients was found to be 19.68% and (68.4%) was leading pathogen involved. Out of 739 isolates, 64.9% were multidrug resistant (MDR) and 5% were extensively drug resistant (XDR). Extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) was detected in 288 (38.9%) of the isolates. Alarming rate of drug resistance among pediatric uropathogens and high rate of ESBL-producing was observed. It is extremely necessary to routinely investigate the drug resistance among all isolates and formulate strict antibiotics prescription policy in our country.