PREVALENCE AND ANTIBIOGRAM PATTERN OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA ISOLATED FROM WOUND SWABS AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, SOKOTO

Abstract

severely ill and immune-compromised patients. These bacteria are included in the group of so-called ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, S. aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, P. aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species), capable of “escaping” antibiotic treatment due to increasing multi-drug resistance. Ubiquitously disseminated in the environment, especially in hospitals, it has become a major threat to human health due to the constant emergence of drug-resistant strains. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence and antibiogram pattern of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from wound swabs of patients attending Specialist Hospital Sokoto. A total of 110 non-repetitive wound samples were analyzed, revealing a prevalence rate of 29% for P. aeruginosa. The isolates exhibited high levels of resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics, including streptomycin (100%), cefuroxime (96.9%), and ceftazidime (93.7%), while showing notable susceptibility to imipenem (78.1%) and ofloxacin (68.7%). The age group 11–20 years recorded the highest infection rate (31.3%). Prevalence was higher among males (59.4%) than females (40.6%) and more pronounced in inpatients (56.8%) compared to outpatients (43.2%). These findings underscore the critical need for enhanced antibiotic stewardship programs, routine antimicrobial surveillance, and strict infection control practices to curb the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa.