Clinico-Microbiological Profile and Culture Sensitivity Pattern of Micro-Organisms Isolated from Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Study from a Tertiary Care Centre

• Published in: Journal of the Association of Physicians of India Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 11 - 12
• Main Authors: ShankarRao, Andavarapu Gouri, Behera, Pradip Kumar, Tripathy, Krishna Padarabinda, Nair, Aswathy Asokan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India 01.04.2022
• Subjects: Adult; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Diabetes Mellitus - drug therapy; Diabetic Foot - epidemiology; Escherichia coli; Female; Humans; Male; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcus aureus; Tertiary Care Centers
• ISSN: 0004-5772

Worldwide, diabetic foot lesions are a major medical, social and economic problem and are the leading cause of hospitalization for patients with diabetes. The organisms causing the ulcers vary from different geographical regions and initiation of empiric antibiotics depends on the prevalence of the local pathogens and their sensitivity pattern, With this background the present study was carried out to evaluate the bacterial diversity and their culture sensitivity patterns in diabetic foot ulcers. Medical records of 65 cases of diabetes mellitus with diabetic foot ulcer admitted to hospital during the period from January 2019 to December 2020 were retrieved from the Medical Records Department. Demographic, clinical profile and microbiological profile with antibiotic sensitivity pattern were analyzed. Out of 65 cases (n=65), 54 (83.07%) were male and 11 (16.92%) were female. Age range of the patients was from 39 years to 80 years with mean age of 59=/-9.65years. The mean duration of diabetes was 9.4=/-5.7 years and 52.4% had diabetes for more than 10 years. Hypertension was present in 84.5% of the cases. Nearly 62.5% had lesions for 3 months before presenting to the hospital. Peripheral neuropathy was present in all the cases. More than 60% cases were surgically treated with debridement. Osteomyelitis was present in 44.5% cases. Out of 65 cases, 64 were culture positive. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the leading pathogen in 23.3% cases (n=15), Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated in 15.38% cases each followed by Burkholderia cepacia which constituted 10% of all cases. Multiple organisms were isolated in 11 cases (16.92%). Burkholderia cepacia, which was earlier an uncommon infection in Diabetic foot ulcer, was found in significant (10%) number of cases. This may be due to improper waste management and change in environmental conditions.