LAUSR

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance patterns of bacterial isolates from inpatients and outpatients in Mbale and Soroti regional referral hospitals in Eastern Uganda. METHODS A retrospective analysis of culture and antibiotic sensitivity test results from the microbiology laboratories of the two tertiary hospitals was conducted for a 3-year period (January 2016-December 2018). RESULTS Microbiology records of 3092 patients were reviewed and analyzed. 1305 (42.1.%) samples yielded clinical isolates. The most prevalent isolates were Escherichia coli (n = 442; 33.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 376; 28.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 237; 18.2%), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 76; 5.8%). High rates of antimicrobial resistance were detected across both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. E.coli and K. pneumoniae were resistant to several agents such as amoxicillin/clavulanate (83.5%; 64.6%), cefotaxime (74.2%; 52.7%), ciprofloxacin (92.1%; 27.8%), gentamicin (51.8%; 76%), imipenem (3.2%; 10.5%), tetracycline (98%; 74.5%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (74.1%; 74.3%), respectively. S. aureus and S. pneumoniae exhibited the following resistance profile: cefoxitin (44.4%; 40.9%), chloramphenicol (69.1%; 27.6%) clindamycin (21.5%; 24.4%), gentamicin (83.2%; 66.9%), penicillin (46.5%; -) tetracycline (85.6%; 97.6%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (88%; 91.3%), and vancomycin (41.2 %; -). CONCLUSION We observed high resistance rates to antibiotics among the majority of microorganisms that were isolated from the samples collected from patients in Eastern Uganda. Furthermore, measures should be undertaken locally to improve microbiology diagnostics and to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant strains as this impedes the optimal treatment of bacterial infections and narrows the choice of effective therapeutic options.