PATTERN OF BACTERIAL-INFECTIONS AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY AT THE KENYATTA-NATIONAL-HOSPITAL, NAIROBI, KENYA

To monitor clinically significant isolates and their antimicrobial sus ceptibilities, all specimens sent to microbiology laboratory of the Ke nyatta National Hospital were cultured on appropriate media. The susce ptibility of the isolates was performed on Muller Hinton or diagnostic sensitivity test (DST) agar using comparative discs diffusion techniq ue. The results were then entered into Microbe Base 2 computer program me. A total of 7416 clinically significant isolates were collected fro m 1991 to 1995. The most commonly isolated organisms were E. coli, Kle bsiella and Staphylococcus aureus. Most of these hospital acquired inf ections had multiple resistance to conventional antimicrobials, namely , penicillin, tetracyclines, gentamicin, trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazol e and ampicillin. The resistance pattern was high among both gram nega tive and positive bacteria isolates, Beta-lactamase production amongst them were 51%, 69.3%, 79.6% respectively. Prevalence of methicillin r esistant Staphylococcus aureus was 39.8%. Addition of clavulanic acid to amoxycillin increased Staphylococcus aureus susceptibility three fo ld. The emergence of multiple drug resistance calls for a continuous m onitoring and reviewing of antibiotic policy in the hospital and the c ountry at large.