International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | May 2016 | Vol 4 | Issue 5 Page 1458 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Mishra D et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2016 May;4(5):1458-1462 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Research Article Antibiotic resistance pattern of bacterial isolates from skin and soft tissue infections Debadutta Mishra 1 *, Seetu Palo 2 INTRODUCTION Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) can be defined as ‘an inflammatory microbial invasion of the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissues’. 1 It is quite commonly encountered in clinical practice, encompassing a wide variety of presentations ranging from simple impetigo to life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis. The SSTIs are usually caused by Gram positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and group A β-hemolytic Streptococcus and less commonly, by Gram negative organisms like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus species, etc. 2 Appropriate topical/systemic antibacterial therapy forms an important component in the management of these lesions. But, the increasing resistance to the antibiotics prevailing in microorganisms is posing a big problem to the clinicians. 2 Many cases do not respond to same antibiotics which were previously effective. Also, the antibiotic sensitivity pattern shows temporal and geographic variations. Hence, there is a constant need to monitor the changing trends of causative bacterial agents and their antibiogram. Considering these facts, the present study was carried out to find out the etiological bacterial agents and their antibiotic resistance patterns in cases of SSTIs attending dermatology and surgery OPD in a tertiary care hospital. ABSTRACT Background: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are commonly encountered in clinical practice. The spectrum of the causative bacterial agents changes constantly, and so does their antibiogram. Hence, this study was carried out to find the etiological bacterial agents and their antibiotic resistance patterns in cases of SSTIs. Methods: A pus sample was collected aseptically from 328 cases of skin and soft tissue infections attending OPD of a tertiary care hospital and was investigated for antibiotic resistance pattern of isolated organism. Results: Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest pathogen. It showed maximum resistance against penicillin (97.70%) and 100% sensitivity to teicoplanin, linezolid, gentamicin and vancomycin. 75.86% of the isolated S.aureus strains were methicillin sensitive and 24.14% were methicillin resistant. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the second most frequent isolate. It showed maximum resistance to aztreonam (64.3%), followed by piperacillin, ceftazidime (57.1%) and was completely sensitive to imipenem. Conclusions: Staphylococcus aureus exhibited high resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics like β-lactams, fluroquinolones and fusidic acid. Hence, it is recommended to base the treatment upon culture and sensitivity report. Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Staphylococcus aureus, Skin and soft tissue infections 1 Department of Micrbiology, Maharajah's Institute of Medical Sciences, Vizianagram, Andhra Pradesh, India 2 Department of Pathology, Maharajah's Institute of Medical Sciences, Vizianagram, Andhra Pradesh, India Received: 18 February 2016 Accepted: 22 March 2016 *Correspondence: Dr. Debadutta Mishra, E-mail: ddm66434@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20161210