Culture and Sensitivity Patterns of Various Antibiotics Used for the Treatment of Pediatric Infectious Diarrhea in Children under 5 Years of Age: A Tertiary Care Experience from Karachi

Background and objective: Infectious diarrhea is one of the most common infections and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age. Frequent and irrational use of antibiotics has resulted in increased bacterial resistance. The aim of our study was to determine the culture and sensitivity patterns of antibiotics used for the treatment of diarrhea in children less than 5 years of age in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted for a period of six months in the children of ages ranging between 6 months and 5 years. Stool samples were obtained from the patients presented with signs and symptoms of diarrhea in OPD or being referred to microbiology department for stool C/S (culture and sensitivity). Data were analyzed on SPSS version 19.0. Results: A total number of 325 stool samples were collected, out of which 152 samples were positive for pathogens. The most common pathogen isolated was E. coli 92 (60%), followed by Klebsiella 56 (37%) and Salmonella 4 (3%). All 152 isolates were highly resistant to majority of the standard antibiotics. Conclusion: Infectious diarrhea is highly prevalent among children under 5 years of age. E. coli was found to be the most frequent pathogen isolated in stool samples of the patients presenting with diarrhea and was highly resistant to many of the commonly used standard antibiotics in our clinical set up. Male children were predominantly affected by infectious diarrhea as compared to female children. Therefore, injudicious use of antibiotics should be stopped as well as should not be prescribed empirically for the treatment of all cases of pediatric diarrhea.