DOI: https://njcpt.com.ng/101.1.2.34
Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development. Presently, it is considered one of the most critical public health threats worldwide and should be considered a high priority by all healthcare workers and institutions.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess antimicrobial resistance patterns among the paediatric population in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.
Method: It was a retrospective cross-sectional study that extracted data from the medical records of 180 paediatric patients (Children < 14 years of age) who were admitted to the paediatric wards of the hospital from January 2019 to December 2019. The selection of samples was by systematic random sampling. Only records of paediatric patients with at least three consecutive days of hospitalisation with not more than three missing data were included. A well-designed proforma was used to collect data, which was entered into a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel 2021. Analysis for Frequency tables and charts was done using the International Business Machine (IBM).
Result: The result documented 180 participants, 102 of whom were males and 91 below the age of 1 month. Over all resistance was highest with ciprofloxacin (n=50(21.8), followed by cloxacillin (n=32(14.0) and ampicillin (n=27(11.8). Resistance to ciprofloxacin was observed to be highest with S.typhi (29.4%), followed by E. coli (27.9%), then S. aureus (23.9%) and lastly by Pseudomonas spp (10.2%). Multidrug resistance was highest with S. aureus (40.2%) and list with S. typhi (7.4%).
Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin was the antibiotic with the highest resistance level. Resistance to cotrimoxazole was observed to be nil. The primary isolates were Staphy. aureus, E. coli, Pseudomonas species and Salmonella typhi. The isolates were multidrug-resistant, the preponderance of which was exhibited by S. aureus.
Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, pattern, paediatrics, inpatients, tertiary hospital.