Determination of Bacteria associated with Urinary Catheters from Patients Suffering from Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary catheters act as a reservoir of resistant pathogens. Several factors (type, duration, procedural mistakes during insertion of catheter, associated diseases of patients, etc.) are responsible for the different catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates in different healthcare setups. This study was conducted to determine bacteria that can be found in the urinary catheter of UTI patients. The samples were aseptically collected into a sterile container 48 h after insertion of catheter. Urine culture was done on blood agar and cystine-lactose-electrolyte-deficient agar. However, standard protocol of identification was done to identify the isolates. The highest prevalence in relation to age in this study was obtained in age groups 21–30 and 41–50 years, each with 11 (23.40%) uropathogens, and the lowest was obtained in the 71–80 years age bracket with zero prevalence. A higher number of uropathogens was found in female participants (26, 55.32%) than in male patients (21, 44.68%). However, different types of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were isolated from catheters of UTI patients. Among the isolates, higher prevalence was found in E. coli in both male and female patients with a frequency of seven/21 (33.33%) and eight/26 (30.77%), respectively, followed by S. aureus with six/21 (28.57) and five/26 (19.23) in male and female patients, respectively. Catheterization of UTI patients is a very common procedure used in many hospitals, and practice is even more common in the intensive care units of most hospitals.