Asian Journal of Medicine and Health

Introduction: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are public health concerns in developing countries. These infections are usually treated with antibiotics, and in most cases, treatment is initiated before the final laboratory reports are available. Lately, empiric treatment has been complicated by the emergence of resistance and a definitive diagnosis and susceptibility testing would be required for effective management. This study focused on the causative agents of RTIs in Ile-Ife, and the susceptibility patterns of all the isolates.

Methods: Two hundred and thirteen samples of sputum, pleural aspirate and throat swab were collected aseptically from patients and cultured on the appropriate media. Bacterial isolates were identified by biochemical tests and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was determined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique.

Results: In this study, the prevalence of respiratory tract infections was 38.5%. Male patients and those in the age group of 21-30 years were more vulnerable to respiratory tract infections (p<0.05). The highest number of pathogens (n=70; 84.4%) was obtained from sputum, while 12 (24.6%) were isolated from pleural aspirate and throat swab. The commonest bacterial sp isolated was Klebsiella sp (n=32; 39%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=16; 19.6%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (n=11; 13.4%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=7; 8.5%), and Staphylococcus aureus (n=6; 7.3%). Most of the isolates (>60%) were resistant to amoxicillin, cotrimoxazole, cloxacillin and tetracycline, but far fewer to ofloxacin (<10%).

Conclusion: The level of antibiotic resistance observed in this study is a serious public health problem and hence, underscores the need for timely and proper diagnosis of respiratory tract infections and susceptibility testing.