Increasing Ciprofloxacin Resistance Among Prevalent Urinary Tract Bacterial Isolates in Gaza Strip, Palestine

This article presents the incidence of ciprofloxacin resistance among 480 clinical isolates obtained from patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) during January to June 2004 in Gaza Strip, Palestine. The resistance rates observed were 15.0% to ciprofloxacin, 82.5% to amoxycillin, 64.4% to cotrimoxazole, 63.1% to doxycycline, 32.5% to cephalexin, 31.9% to nalidixic acid, and 10.0% to amikacin. High resistance to ciprofloxacin was detected among Acinetobacter haemolyticus (28.6%), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (25.0%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.0%), Klebsiella pneumonia (17.6%), and Escherichia coli (12.0%). Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ciprofloxacin evenly ranged from 4 to 32 mu g/mL with a mean of 25.0 mu g/mL. This study indicates emerging ciprofloxacin resistance among urinary tract infection isolates. Increasing resistance against ciprofloxacin demands coordinated monitoring of its activity and rational use of the antibiotics.