Microbiology of Upper Respiratory Tract Pathogens in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Abstract

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited genetic disorder with chronic respiratory manifestations. The respiratory symptoms may start very early in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of respiratory pathogens in children with CF. In this clinical laboratory study, 100 CF patients were prospectively collected from February 2016 to March 2017. Microbiological cultures and antimicrobial susceptibility tests of the most frequently isolated upper respiratory tract bacteria were performed. According to the results of this study, Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent microorganism 24 (24%) in CF patients followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 21 (21%). In children younger than one-year-old, Enterococci and Klebsiella pneumonia were the most frequently isolated pathogens. In other age groups, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were most frequent. All pathogens showed more sensitivity to Ceftriaxone, Amikacin, and Ceftazidime. However, Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to Cefoxitin, Clindamycin, and Linezolid and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were most sensitive to Amikacin, Ceftazidime, and Ceftriaxone respectively. In conclusion, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were the most frequent microorganisms in CF patients in our population. In patients younger than one-year-old, the most frequent pathogens were Enterococci and Klebsiella. All pathogens and Pseudomonas aeroginosa were sensitive to Ceftriaxone, Amikacin, and Ceftazidime but Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to Cefoxitin, Clindamycin, and Linezolid respectively. It seems that Ceftriaxone, Amikacin, and Ceftazidime are the most suitable antibiotics for the treatment of pulmonary infections in CF patients in our population.

Keywords

• Antibiotic
• Antibiogram
• Cystic fibrosis
• Microbiology
• Respiratory pathogen