Bacterial and fungal infections among diabetics

Abstract EN

One hundred and fifty specimens were collected from diabetic patients suffering from infections over a period of 9 months.

Urine was the most frequently collected specimen from diabetic patients (50 %) followed by foot swabs (24 %), tracheal aspiration and sputum (12.7 %), blood (6.7 %), vaginal swabs (3.3 %), and eye swabs and each stool represented 1.3 %.

A wide variety of gram-negative bacteria representing 12 different species were identified as the etiologic agents of infections in these specimens.

Clearly, E.

coli dominated over all the other species.

Among the 150 microbes causing infections in diabetic patients, a total of 40 (26.7 %) were identified as E.

coli.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the second bacterial species causing infections.

They were isolated from 20 %, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.3 %), and Proteus mirabilis (4.7 %).

Salmonella, Enterobacter, Acinetobacter, and Citrobacter were found in 2 % of the cases.

Morganella (1.3 %) and Serratia were detected in less than 1 %.

Among gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococci were the most frequent organisms and were isolated from 20 (13.3 %) specimens.

Other gram-positive bacteria were Streptococcus (4 %), Enterococcus faecalis (2 %), Micrococcus 2 (1.3 %), and Diphtheroids were detected in less than 1 %.

Candida albicans and Candida spp.

were isolated from 12 diabetic patients.