Multidrug resistance of uropathogens as a risk factor in providing medical care to patients from Central Bulgaria

The emergence of resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents in uropathogenic bacteria has become a significant public health problem. These microorganisms are the cause of urinary tract infections, which are among the most frequently treated diseases in the outpatient medical care. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 353 outpatients over 18 years of age with positive urine sample culture. It involved measuring the index of multiple antibiotic resistance of uropathogens causing infections among individuals. The research was conducted in the period January - June 2023 at a private clinical laboratory center located in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. One third of the isolates of E. coli and more than a half of those of Klebsiella pneumoniae had a measured MAR index greater than 0.2, with confirmatory high rates of resistance to aminopenicillins and cephalosporins. Alarmingly high MARI values were measured in all representatives of Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These strains were also established to have high levels of resistance (varying from 58.3 to 100 %) to some of antimicrobial medicines most commonly prescribed in the outpatient healthcare. Findings of this study emphasize the importance and seriousness of the existing problem with the increasing prevalence of uropathogenic microorganisms with multiple resistance to oral antibiotics. This creates elevated risks of failure to provide effective treatment for patients.