Background and objective: Infectious diarrhea is one of the most common\ninfections and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children under\n5 years of age. Frequent and irrational use of antibiotics has resulted in\nincreased bacterial resistance. The aim of our study was to determine the\nculture and sensitivity patterns of antibiotics used for the treatment of diarrhea\nin children less than 5 years of age in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi,\nPakistan. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted for a period\nof six months in the children of ages ranging between 6 months and 5 years.\nStool samples were obtained from the patients presented with signs and\nsymptoms of diarrhea in OPD or being referred to microbiology department\nfor stool C/S (culture and sensitivity). Data were analyzed on SPSS version\n19.0. Results: A total number of 325 stool samples were collected, out of\nwhich 152 samples were positive for pathogens. The most common pathogen\nisolated was E. coli 92 (60%), followed by Klebsiella 56 (37%) and Salmonella\n4 (3%). All 152 isolates were highly resistant to majority of the standard antibiotics.\nConclusion: Infectious diarrhea is highly prevalent among children\nunder 5 years of age. E. coli was found to be the most frequent pathogen isolated\nin stool samples of the patients presenting with diarrhea and was highly\nresistant to many of the commonly used standard antibiotics in our clinical\nset up. Male children were predominantly affected by infectious diarrhea as\ncompared to female children. Therefore, injudicious use of antibiotics should\nbe stopped as well as should not be prescribed empirically for the treatment\nof all cases of pediatric diarrhea.
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