Abstract:
Background: Enterococci become clinically important especially in immune compromised patients and important
causes of nosocomial infections. Data on the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and associated factors
of enterococci are scarce in Ethiopia.
Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Teaching Hospital
from February 28, 2014 to May 1, 2014. Pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic
data and possible associated factors of enterococci infections. Clinical samples including urine, blood, wound swabs
and other body fluids from patients requested by physician for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test during
the study period were included. A total of 385 patients were included in the study. Data were entered and
analyzed using SPSS Version 20. P values <0.05 were considered as statistically significant.
Result: The overall prevalence of enterococci infection was 6.2% (24/385). The commonest sites of infections
were urinary tract followed by wound and blood. Among the 24 isolates, 33.3% (8/24) were resistant to all tested
antimicrobial agents. Forty one point 7 % (10/24) of the enterococci isolates were vancomycin resistant enterococci
(VRE). Moreover, two third of the isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR) enterococci. In multivariate analysis, duration of
hospital stay for two days and more than two days with infection rate 17/32 (53.1%), previous history of any antibiotics
(AOR = 9.13; [95% CI; 2.01–41.51] P = 0.00) and history of urinary catheterization (AOR = 8.80; [95% CI; 1.70–45.64]
P = 0.01) were associated with presence of higher enterococci infections than their respective groups.
Conclusion: The prevalence of enterococci infections among patients with UTIs, wound infections and sepsis
were higher than the other infections. Multi drug resistant enterococci including VRE were isolated from clinical
samples in the study area. Being hospitalized for ≥48 h, having history of any antibiotic administration and
catheterization were associated factors for enterococci infections. Presence of VRE indicates decreased antibiotic
treatment options of multidrug resistant enterococci. Therefore, efforts should be made to prevent enterococci
infections and emergency of multidrug resistant enterococci. Moreover, species identification and antibiotic
resistant in advanced and at large scale is demanding.
