Naeem Akhtar, Alhussain Jabr Alzahrani.
Antibiotic resistance of Diarrheagenic Escherichia Coli (DEC) isolated from children under the age of 3 years in a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;2(4):218-21.

Objective: To find out the prevalence of serotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns of different categories of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) i.e. enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC), and enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) in dirrheagenic stools from children under 3 years of age. Study Design: A retrospective review over a period of three years (2001-2003). The study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, King Fand Hospital of the University, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The strains were identified as E. coli in routine culture on MacConkey and confirmed by biochemical tests using AP120E. Serotyping of the isolates was carried out using immune sera for pathogenic E. coli. Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined by overnight microdilution method with commercial dehydrated panels provided by Dade Behring MicroScan and interpreted according to NCCLS criteria. Results: Sixty six strains belonging to serotypes 06. 08, 015, 018, 020, 025, 026. 027, 029. 044, 055, 063, 0111, 0114, 0 115, 0119, 0128, 0143, 0144, 0146, 0153, 0158, 0166, were isolated. The most prevalent serotypes isolated were 044, 0166 and 06. Strains of all the four categories of E. colis showed high-level resistance to ampicillin, trimethprim- sulphamethoxazole and tetracycline, whereas chloramphenicol and amoxicillin-clavulinic acid showed moderate activity and ciprofloxacin, amikacin and gentamicin had excellent activity. Conclusion: Ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulphametoxazole, the commonly used antibiotics for treatment of diarrhea in children are not suitable as empirical therapy.

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