Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from diabetic wounds of patients attending the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of delayed wound healing worldwide, 22 particularly among diabetic patients, due to the bacterium's resistance to antibiotics. This study 23 aimed to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. aureus isolated 24 from diabetic wound infections at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). A purposive 25 sampling method was used to select 156 diabetic patients, aged 13 years and above, attending the 26 diabetic clinic at MTRH. Wound swabs were collected aseptically, inoculated onto blood agar, 27 and sub-cultured on Mannitol Salt Agar. The isolates were identified through biochemical tests, 28 and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using the agar disk diffusion method. Of the 156 29 samples, 31 (19.87%) were positive for S. aureus, while 125 (80.13%) were negative. Among 30 the positive isolates, 26 (10.48%) exhibited intermediate sensitivity, and 72 (29.03%) showed 31 resistance to at least one antibiotic. More than half of the isolates were susceptible to the tested 32 antibiotics. The highest susceptibility was observed for Cefoxitin (96.77%) and Clindamycin 33 (80.65%), while Ampicillin demonstrated the lowest susceptibility (25.81%). The study 34 established, 19.87% prevalence of S. aureus in wounds of diabetic patients at the outpatient 35 diabetic clinic of MTRH, with most isolates showing susceptibility to Cefoxitin, Erythromycin, 36 and Clindamycin. Regular surveillance, early screening, and re-evaluation of treatment options, 37 particularly Ampicillin, are essential for effective management diabetic wound infections and to 38 combat antibiotic resistance.