EMERGING DRUG-RESISTANT BACTERIAL FLORA ON THE HANDS OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS-A CHALLENGE!

BACKGROUND Estimates indicate that hundreds of millions of patients suffer from hospital-acquired infections each year worldwide. Cross-transmission of microorganisms from the hands of Healthcare Workers (HCWs) is considered the main route for spread of nosocomial infections. Hence, the present study was undertaken to detect the microorganisms present on the hands of healthcare workers and to evaluate the antibiotic sensitivity pattern and multi-drug resistance of those isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS Swabs were collected from the hands of 124 healthcare workers who were attending the ICU, IMCU, Emergency Ward and OT. Swabs were processed and all the bacterial isolates were identified as per the standard guideline. Antibiotic sensitivity was performed for the identified pathogens according to CLSI standards. RESULTS Out of total 124 samples collected, growth was observed in 107 (86.3%) samples and no growth in 17 (13.7%) samples. The resident flora were (57) Coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp. (CNS) and (4) Micrococcus spp. Among 57 CNS, 17 (29.8%) were Methicillin resistant coagulase negative Staphylococci (MRCNS). Transient flora includes Staphylococcus aureus (36), Enterococcus spp. (11), Acinetobacter spp. (12), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10), Escherichia coli (7) and Klebsiella spp. (5). Eleven (30.6%) isolated S. aureus strains were detected to be Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); 75% of Acinetobacter spp. and 30.1% of Pseudomonas spp. were multi-drug resistant. Among ESBL producers 70.3% were Escherichia coli and 50% were Klebsiella spp. We also observed in our study that the resistance to imipenem was shown by 25% of Acinetobacter spp., 10% of Pseudomonas spp., 14% of Escherichia coli and 20% of Klebsiella spp. CONCLUSION Strategies should be designed at the Institutional level to recommend hand hygiene practices, so as to prevent the emergence of hospital-acquired infections.