Incidence of Bacterial Skin Infections in Libya: A Retrospective Population-Based Study

Abstract

Introduction: The global burden of bacterial skin infection is substantial. We aimed to determine the common pathogens causes skin infections and their antimicrobial resistance pattern. Methods: A retrospective record review of data claimed from the microbiology department at Ber-Ustta Milad skin hospital between Jan 2009 to December 2018 was conducted. The consequence of interest was the antimicrobial sensitivity of bacterial isolates. Chi square was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 1,141 collected samples, a total of 455 isolates of different medically-significant bacteria were analyzed. The most common pathogen was S. aureus (97.14%), followed by E. coli (93.71%), and the least common was Shigella (0.57%). From the various inoculated samples, S. aureus and proteus were highly resistant to penicillin (34.3%, 75% respectively) and ampicillin (28.6%, 62.5% respectively). E. coli was highly resistant to ampicillin (45.12%) and penicillin (35.96%), whereas the lowest resistant was against imipenem (3.05%). While, Pseudomonas was highly resistant to ampicillin and augmentin (62.5%), whereas the lowest resistance rate was marked to erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole and imipenem (25%). Ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and nalidixic acid were the only sensitive agents. Conclusions: There is a high burden of bacterial resistance to common antibiotics in our population samples. Recognition of the potential resistant strains of pathogen causing skin infection can help in guiding proper choice of antibiotic therapy.

Keywords

• bacteria
• skin
• infection
• libya