Antibiotic susceptibility of microorganisms at a general hospital in Lagos,Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: To determine susceptibility patterns of microorganisms to antibiotics in a large general hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: Clinical samples received in the laboratory were processed according to standard methods. Susceptibility to antibiotics was done using a disk diffusion technique. RESULTS: Five hundred and fifty-one samples from urine, wound, reproductive tract and other body fluids were analysed. The most frequently isolated pathogens (n=586) were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Most of the organisms were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, perfloxacin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone and azithromycin but were resistant to ampicillin, cotrimoxazole and penicillin. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was multi-resistant. The susceptibility pattern obtained at this hospital is similar to what obtains in teaching hospitals in Nigeria. CONCLUSION: Microorganisms isolated at this hospital are more sensitive to newer antibiotics.