URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN A ROMANIAN POPULATION: ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE OF UROPATHOGENS - A MULTIREGIONAL STUDY

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are a serious public health problem determined by a large variety of microorganisms; the leading uropathogen is represented by Escherichia coli, followed by Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. as major Gram-negative bacteria. Enterococcus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. are the most frequent Gram-positive pathogens involved. The presented study aimed to corroborate results from four tertiary hospitals in three different regions of Romania. Analysing 15,907 urine probes, of which 2,842 (17.86%) met the inclusion criteria, for discovering the uropathogen involved in the dynamics of UTIs, desiring to determine the resistance and sensitivity patterns for each pathogen presented, in a comparative approach. Escherichia coli was the leading pathogen 1629 (57.31%), presenting the highest resistance to levofloxacin R = 20.62% and amoxicillin -clavulanic acid R = 18.17%; the second most frequent bacteria were Klebsiella spp. 530 (18.64%), with major resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic ac. R = 45.66% and ceftazidime R = 29.05%. Enterococcus spp. was the most common Gram-positive strain 340 (11.96%), presenting important resistance to levofloxacin R = 32.35% and penicillin R = 25.29%. Current guidelines recommend adjusting treatment to local data in the management of UTIs; thus, this study involving all three major regions of Romania represents a pivotal point in providing an appropriate recommendation for every health professional.