Year: 2026 | Month: April-June | Volume: 11 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 122-128
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijshr.20260215
Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of ESKAPE Pathogens Isolated from Urinary Tract Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tripura
Puja Saha1, Sourav Saha2
1Medical Officer, Dept of Microbiology, ABV-RCC, Agartala, Tripura, India.
2Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anaesthesiology, TMC & Dr. BRAM Teaching Hospital, Agartala, Tripura, India.
Corresponding Author: Dr. Puja Saha
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Being the ‘escapers’ from the action of antibiotics, the ESKAPE pathogens—Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.— are presently considered greatly by the health sector because of their highly infective nature and influence on mortality and morbidity.
Objective: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of ESKAPE pathogens in UTI patients, with a primary focus on phenotypic characterisation of antibiotic resistance.
Materials and Methods: A study was conducted using urine samples from patients attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tripura over 1 year (May 2023 - April 2024). Following the universal standard method of urine collection, 7641 samples were collected and processed for isolation of ESKAPE pathogens. Bacterial identification was performed using standard microbiological techniques, including Gram’s staining, morphological & cultural characteristics, and biochemical properties. Determination of isolates exhibiting VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci), ESBL (Extended Spectrum β-lactamases), Carbapenemases & MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) characteristics was done following standard procedures after processing for AST on the isolates by using MHA by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.
Results: Out of the total 7641 samples, 488(6.38%) samples were found to be ESKAPE pathogen isolates. Among them, more than 49% were Enterococcus faecium, followed by 30.12% of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus (11.06%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.32%), Acinetobacter baumannii (2.45%) & Enterobacter spp. (2.43%). MRSA was 37.03% & VRE was 16.52%. ESBL & MBL producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was 16.32% & 6.8%; Acinetobacter baumannii 75% each; Pseudomonas aeruginosa 11.53% & 7.69% respectively.
Conclusion: This study estimates the burden of ESKAPE pathogens in urine samples and their antimicrobial resistance pattern in a hospital setting. A high percentage of drug resistance was noted. Thus, the results of this study support implementing targeted antimicrobial strategies to specifically target these pathogens.
Keywords: ESKAPE pathogens, Urinary Tract Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance, MRSA, VRE, ESBL