A retrospective observational study on the sputum samples received by the Department of Microbiology, Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya in the year 2007

Background & Objectives: The morbidity and mortality still remain significantly high in patients with severe lower respiratory tract infections. But data related to the offending organisms and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern is limited. Therefore, this study was designed to identify the bacterial pathogens and to review their antibiotic sensitivity by analyzing the results of sputum for culture samples which were received by Microbiology Department,Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya between January to December 2007.
Methods: All the sputum culture and antibiotic sensitivity test reports generated by the microbiology laboratory of the Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya from January to December 2007 were collected and analysed carefully in order to find out the organisms isolated and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern.
Results: Out of the 921 sputum culture reports generated by the microbiology laboratory in the year 2007, 322 had coliforms and 74 had Pseudomonas isolated. Furthermore, 16 isolates of coliforms (colony appearance resembled Klebsiella) and 13 isolates of Pseudomonas spp. were sensitive only to second line antibiotics.
Interpretation and Conclusion: There were significant number of cases of Pseudomonas (18%) and coliforms (5%) (in which colony appearance resembled Klebsiella ) which were highly resistant to the first line antibiotics. In the severely ill patients with the clinical suspicion of above organisms, it is important to send sputum for culture and antibiotic sensitivity test and consider potent antibiotics such as imipenem, amikacin or netilmicin.   

DOI: 10.4038/gmj.v14i1.1164

Galle Medical Journal Vol.14(1) 2009 10-14