Bacterial Profile of Urinary Tract Infections: Evaluation of Biofilm Formation and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common complaints in the outpatient clinic and a major health problem owing to the emergence of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. The objective of this study was to isolate and identify the causative bacterial agent of UTI and detect in vitro biofilm formation by Escherichia coli and investigate its correlation with antibiotic resistance. Urine samples from 519 patients with suspected UTIs were collected and processed by conventional microbiological procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for E. coli isolates was performed on Mueller Hinton agar (MHA) plates using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Biofilm production was evaluated using the tissue culture plate method. Of 519 urine samples, 115 (22.1%) showed significant bacteriuria. The most common isolate was E. coli (n=57, 49.6%), followed by Klebsiella spp. (n=23, 20%). All E. coli isolates were evaluated for their ability to form biofilms in vitro. Of 57 isolates, 50 (87.7%) were biofilm producers and 7 (12.3%) were non-biofilm producers. Antibiogram of E. coli isolates revealed the highest resistance to ampicillin (96.5%) and nitrofurantoin (91.2%), followed by amoxyclav (82.5%), ceftazidime (73.7%), cefepime (71.9%), and tetracycline (71.9%). A significant association (p<0.05) was observed between biofilm formation and resistance to amoxyclav, ceftazidime, cefepime, imipenem, and nitrofurantoin. A significant correlation was noted between biofilm production and antibiotic resistance. Hence, screening of all isolates of uropathogenic E. coli for biofilm production and studying their antibiogram would allow appropriate choice of antibiotic therapy.