Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Risk Factors for Urinary Tract Infections among Outpatients at the Regional Annex Hospital of Dschang, Cameroon
Fadimatou Rosette Nguemne
Research Unit of Microbiology and Antimicrobial Substances, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dschang, P.O. Box67, Dschang, Cameroon.
Ousenu Karimo
Research Unit of Microbiology and Antimicrobial Substances, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dschang, P.O. Box67, Dschang, Cameroon. and Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Bamenda, P.O. Box782, Bamenda, Cameroon.
Aimé Gabriel Fankam
*
Research Unit of Microbiology and Antimicrobial Substances, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dschang, P.O. Box67, Dschang, Cameroon.
Victor Kuete
Research Unit of Microbiology and Antimicrobial Substances, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dschang, P.O. Box67, Dschang, Cameroon.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To determine the prevalence, risk factors and antimicrobial profile of uropathogens among outpatients suspected of urinary tract infections (UTI) at the Regional Annex Hospital of Dschang.
Study Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2023 among outpatients who sought consultation for a urinary infection at the Regional Annex Hospital of Dschang
Methodology: We included 173 patients suspected to have UTI. Clean catch mid-stream non-duplicated urine samples were collected observed macroscopically, subjected to microscopy, cultured on Cystine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient Agar (CLED). Gram-negative bacteria were identified using Enterosystem 18R kit following the manufacturer's instructions while Gram-positive were identified using a battery of biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method. Data analysis was performed using Excel 2016 and SPSS version 22.0, P≤0.05 was considered significant.
Results: A total of 173 non-duplicated urine samples were collected from 173 patients and analyzed during the period of this study. Majority of the participants were females 91.3% (158/173). The prevalence of UTI was found to be 49.71% (86/173), and the most frequently isolated bacteria were E. coli (38.37%), Klebsiella spp. (20.93%), and Staphylococcus spp. (16.27%). Gram-negative bacteria and Staphylococcus spp showed higher resistance patterns, particularly to β-lactam antibiotics. In total, 38.37% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant. Factors such as age (OR:3.355; P:0.305), fever (OR:3.216; P:0.013), Douching with detergents (OR:5.326; P:0.05), interruption of antibiotic treatment (OR:9.167; P:0.026) and used of oral contraceptives (OR:4.500; P:0.036) were found to be strongly associated with UTI infections.
Conclusion: Overall, this study indicates a high prevalence of bacterial urinary tract infections, as well as a high level of resistance patterns to β-lactamines and several risk factors associated with UTI in our area.
Keywords: Urinary tract infection, bacteria, antibiotic resistance pattern