Pattern of Infecting Microorganisms and Their Susceptibility to Antimicrobial Drugs in Patients with Diabetic Foot Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 10; no. 6; p. e2872
• Main Authors: Kaimkhani, Ghulam M, Siddiqui, Adeel A, Rasheed, Nusrat, Rajput, Mohammad Irfan, Kumar, Jagdesh, Khan, Mohammad Hassan, Nisar, Shahzadi, Mustafa, Sheema, Yaqoob, Uzair
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 25.06.2018; Cureus
• Subjects: Amputation; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Bone surgery; Cardiovascular disease; Diabetes; E coli; Endocrinology/Diabetes/Metabolism; Foot diseases; Health sciences; Hospitals; Hypertension; Internal Medicine; Laboratories; Leg ulcers; Microorganisms; Organisms; Patients; Peripheral neuropathy; Staphylococcus infections; United States > US; Karachi Pakistan; Pakistan; diabetic foot ulcer; polymicrobial infection; diabetic osteomyelitis
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.2872

Diabetes mellitus is a universal health problem, with its prevalence in Pakistan making it among the top 10 countries in the world. Approximately 13.9 million people in Pakistan will have developed diabetes by 2030. Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the more serious complications of diabetes. If not treated properly, patients may develop diabetic foot osteomyelitis leading to gangrene and amputation. These infections are usually polymicrobial, with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Proteus, Pseudomonas, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) being among the more common organisms isolated from DFU. This survey of patients with DFU in a tertiary hospital in Karachi, Pakistan found 68.5% of patients had peripheral neuropathy, 57% had chronic osteomyelitis, and 37% and 49% had Wagner grades 2 and 3, respectively. Infections were polymicrobial in 83% of patients, E. coli was isolated from 63%, and S. aureus from 58%. Of the isolated organisms, 95% were sensitive to meropenem and 81% to linezolid.