Investigating the frequency of multi-drug resistant strains of escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infection in children

A current concern in the medical community is the rise in multi-drug resistant (MDR) organisms and their respective problems for children in developing countries. Children infected with such organisms need more care, hospitalization and expensive drugs for their therapy. So, an attempt was made to evaluate the multidrug resistant strains of Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infection in children from Jahrom to recognize the factors involved and control the use of antimicrobials in this area to select best strategies. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 90 E. coli strains isolated from the children aged from 1 month to 14 years, with urinary tract infection. The resistance patterns of the isolates to different antibiotics were determined by disk diffusion method. Results: In this study, the prevalence of the isolates demonstrating a multi-drug resistant phenotype was high. Seventy seven percent of the isolates were resistant to three or more antibiotics. The predominant pattern among these strains (14.4%) included resistance to ampicillin, co- trimoxazole and tetracycline which repeated among 13 strains. Conclusion: With due attention to the results and high rate of multi-drug resistance, regular monitoring of antimicrobial drug resistance in different areas is necessary to prevent the unsuitable consumption of the drugs leading to multi-drug resistance.