Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli Fecal Isolates From Healthy Persons and Patients With Diarrhea.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in fecal Escherichia coli isolates from healthy persons and patients with diarrhea.

METHODS

E. coli isolates (n = 428) were obtained from fecal samples of apparently healthy volunteers and hospitalized patients with diarrhea. Susceptibility patterns of isolates to 16 antimicrobial agents were determined by agar disc diffusion.

RESULTS

Most E. coli isolates exhibited less than 10% resistance against imipenem, cefotetan, aztreonam, cefepime, cefoxitin, amikacin and netilamicin, although greater than 65% were resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline. No significant difference in resistance rates for all tested antibiotics was found between isolates from the healthy-and diarrheal-patient groups, including for multi-drug resistance (p = 0.22). The highest number of resistant antibiotics was 12 antibiotics. No significant differences in antibiotic resistance were found among the sex and age strata for isolates from healthy individuals. However, antibiotic resistance rates to cefoxitin, cefotaxime, amikacin, and netilamicin were significantly higher in the isolates of men than those of women (p < 0.05) in isolates from patients with diarrhea. Furthermore, isolates from patients with diarrhea older than 40-years of age showed higher resistance to cefepime and aztreonam (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

High resistance to the antibiotics most frequently prescribed for diarrhea was found in isolates from patients with diarrhea and apparently healthy individuals without any significant difference.