Clinical epidemiological study on the incidence of Escherichia coli infections in the cancer patients admitted to Surgery Department II of the Iasi Regional Oncology Institute in 2013.

UNLABELLED: The aim of study was to identify pathogens involved in hospital-acquired or community-acquired infections in patients suffering from various types of cancers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A clinical epidemiological study included a group of 355 cancer patients admitted and operated at the Surgery Department II of the Iasi Regional Oncology Institute in 2013 was performed using data from hospital statistical service and the surgery and laboratory records, then processed by epidemi ological and statistical methods.

RESULTS: In cancer patients the pathogen most commonly involved in infections was E. coli, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter cloacae and Acinetobacter. Analysis of bacterial resistance to antibiotics of the pathogen most commonly involved revealed that of the 29 E. coli strains 22 were tested for resistance/sensitivity to ampicillin; of these, 19 strains showed resistance, and only 3 were sensitive; 14 E. coli strains of were resistant to cephalosporins and 8 sensitive; all strains tested were sensitive to carbapenems, imipenem or meropenem and polypeptides (colistin); the 10 tested strains showed resistance to monobactams (aztreonam).

CONCLUSIONS: E. coli was incriminated in most urinary tract infections, the other pathogens being identified sporadically. Surgical wound infections were caused mostly by E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In our study we encountered increased resistance of E. coli to penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams (aztreonam), fluoro-quinolones and tetracyclines.