Prevalence of Multidrug Resistant (MDR) Proteus spp. in Burn Wound Infection of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Rajshahi

Background: Multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria are an emerging public health issue in all over the world especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. Objective: This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of MDR Proteus species in burn wound infected patients admitted in Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH). Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted at Microbiology Department of Rajshahi Medical College, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. A total of 212 wound swabs were collected and processed as per standard protocol from January to December 2016 for a period of one year. The isolation and identification of Proteus species was done by conventional microbiological process and antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by Modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The Proteus species was further classified into MDR on the basis of standardised international criteria. Result: Among the 196 isolates from 212 wound swabs, Proteus spp. was the 2nd most frequent isolated organism (23.47%) following Pseudomonas aeruginosa (34.18%). Two species of Proteus were identified; Proteus mirabilis (65.22%) and Proteus vulgaris (34.78%). More than 75.0% Proteus spp. showed resistance to ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone where meropenem was the highest sensitive drug (>93%). MDR Proteus spp. were 63.04% among which Proteus mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris were 60% & 68.75% MDR respectively. Conclusion: This study culminates the high prevalence of MDR Proteus spp. in Burn Unit of RMCH and decreased sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics. Therefore a greater emphasis on prevention of MDR bacterial colonization and antibiotic stewardship are imperative.