Prevalence of Multi-Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Isolated from Children with Urinary Tract Infection from Baghdad, Iraq

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infections in different age groups, including children. Bacteria are the main etiological agents of UTIs. The aim of the present study was to isolate, identify, and determine the antibiotic susceptibility of bacteria isolated from children with UTIs from Baghdad, Iraq. Three hundred and two urine samples were collected from children aged 6 months to 12 years. The samples were cultured on blood agar and MacConkey agar. The selected colonies were subjected to biochemical tests and antibiotic susceptibility analysis using the Vitek® 2 Compact automated microbial identification system. In this sample, 299 bacteria were identified, of which, 267 were gram-negative bacteria, and 32 were gram-positive bacteria. Escherichia coli (56%) was the most commonly isolated gram-negative bacteria, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (14%), Enterobacter spp. (10.48%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.36%), Proteus spp. (7.8%), Acinetobacter baumannii (1.5%), and Morganella morganii (0.37%). Enterococcus faecalis (62.5%) was the most commonly detected gram-positive bacteria, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (37.5%). E. coli and P. aeruginosa were the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Among the tested antibiotics, meropenem showed 100% sensitivity, followed by imipenem (97.4%), amikacin (91.8%), and tobramycin (83.5%). In contrast, the high frequencies of resistance were observed with cefixime (93.2%), cefotaxime (78.7%), and ceftriaxone/cefotaxime (71.2%). In conclusion, carbapenems and aminoglycosides are highly recommended for the empirical treatment of UTIs, while, Quinolones, penicillins, and cephalosporins are not suggested. Frequent antibiotics susceptibility testing are warranted to determine the resistance pattern of UTI bacteria.