Background and objectives: Antimicrobial resistance among bacterial strains is an emerging problem. Urinary tract infections are one of the most common bacterial infections in humans, both in the hospital and the community settings. Multidrug resistance is seen in Klebsiella which serves as the most common cause of increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to isolate and evaluate the antimicrobial resistance pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae from UTI cases in and around southern part of Trivandrum district, Kerala. Materials and Methods: This retrospective work was carried out between December 2024 and September 2025, at the Microbiology diagnostic laboratory, Dr. SM CSI Medical College and Hospital, Karakonam, Trivandrum district, Kerala. 200 cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae culture positive cases of UTI from both inpatients and outpatients were included in the study. Midstream and catheterized urine were collected with proper precautions, as per their clinical conditions. The isolates were obtained by culturing the samples in conventional media and identified as per CLSI guidelines. Antibiotic susceptibility of each of the isolate was performed in Mueller Hinton agar by disc diffusion test and interpreted as per CLSI standards. For quality control, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883 strain was utilized. The collected data was entered in MS-Excel and statistical analysis was done using SPSS 17 software and were expressed as percentages. Results: Out of the 200 Klebsiella pneumoniae culture positive cases, >70 age group predominated (26.5%). Nearly two third of the cases were male. 62% of the cases were inpatients. Among the 124 inpatients, female medical ward cases predominated (41.9%) over other wards. There were 54 MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae positive cases, of the total 200 positive cases (27%), under study. Overall, 100% of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to the lifesaving drugs like, Colistin and Tigecycline, followed by Meropenem (75%), Cefoperazone/sulbactam (66.5%), Amikacin (63.5%) and Piperacillin/tazobactam (62%), in that order. Conclusion: Our study revealed emergence of MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae among UTI cases, evident by the finding of 27% of the isolates being resistant to all antibiotics used, except, Colistin and Tigecycline. Another important observation was the emergence of gentamicin, being a first line drug, as a more effective drug than the higher antibiotics, against some of the resistant strains isolated (58%).
| Published in | American Journal of Laboratory Medicine (Volume 11, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12 |
| Page(s) | 64-71 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Antimicrobial Resistance, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Multidrug Resistance (MDR), UTI
Age group | 0-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-40 | 41-50 | 51-60 | 61-70 | >70 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. of isolates | 2 | 2 | 25 | 8 | 21 | 44 | 45 | 53 |
% of isolates | 1% | 1% | 12.5% | 4% | 10.5% | 22% | 22.5% | 26.5% |
Sex | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
No. isolates | 134 | 66 |
% of isolates | 67% | 33% |
Out-patient | In-patient | |
|---|---|---|
No. of isolates | 76 | 124 |
% of isolates | 38% | 62% |
Ward | MMW | FMW | MSW | FSW | Neuro ward | Ortho ward | Urology ward | Pediatrics ward | Nephrology ward | OBG-W | MICU | CCU | ICU | EM-W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | 32 | 52 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
% | 25.8 | 41.9 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
Antibiotic | No. of isolates | % of isolates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Amoxycillin/ | S | 82 | 41 |
Clavulanic acid | R | 118 | 59 |
Gentamicin | S | 116 | 58 |
R | 84 | 42 | |
Cotrimoxazole | S | 93 | 46.5 |
R | 107 | 53.5 | |
Norfloxacin | S | 101 | 50.5 |
R | 99 | 49.5 | |
Nitrofurantoin | S | 72 | 36 |
R | 128 | 64 | |
Cefazolin | S | 71 | 35.5 |
R | 129 | 64.5 | |
Cefuroxime | S | 79 | 39.5 |
R | 121 | 60.5 | |
Ceftriaxone | S | 82 | 41 |
R | 118 | 59 | |
Cefepime | S | 109 | 54.5 |
R | 91 | 45.5 | |
Tobramycin | S | 112 | 56 |
R | 88 | 44 | |
Amikacin | S | 127 | 63.5 |
R | 73 | 36.5 | |
Piperacillin/ | S | 124 | 62 |
Tazobactam | R | 76 | 38 |
Cefoperazone/ | S | 133 | 66.5 |
Sulbactam | R | 67 | 33.5 |
Meropenem | S | 150 | 75 |
R | 50 | 25 | |
Tigecycline | S | 200 | 100 |
R | 0 | 0 | |
Colistin | S | 200 | 100 |
R | 0 | 0 | |
UTI | Urinary Tract Infection |
MDR | Multidrug Resistant |
MDROs | Multidrug Resistant Organisms |
ATCC | American Type Culture Collection |
CLSI | Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute |
AST | Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing |
PDR | Pan Drug Resistant |
HAI | Healthcare Associated Infection |
CAI | Community Acquired Infection |
CRKP | Carbapenem Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae |
ESBL | Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase |
K. pneumoniae | Klebsiella pneumoniae |
µg | Microgram |
MMW | Male Medical Ward |
FMW | Female Medical Ward |
MSW | Male Surgical Ward |
FSW | Female Surgical Ward |
OBGW | Obstetrics and Gynecology Ward |
MICU | Medical Intensive Care Unit |
CCU | Critical Care Unit |
ICU | Intensive Care Unit |
EMW | Emergency Medicine Ward |
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APA Style
Babu, S. (2026). Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from UTI Cases in and Around South Trivandrum District, Kerala, India. American Journal of Laboratory Medicine, 11(3), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12
ACS Style
Babu, S. Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from UTI Cases in and Around South Trivandrum District, Kerala, India. Am. J. Lab. Med. 2026, 11(3), 64-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12
AMA Style
Babu S. Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from UTI Cases in and Around South Trivandrum District, Kerala, India. Am J Lab Med. 2026;11(3):64-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12
@article{10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12,
author = {Suresh Babu},
title = {Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from UTI Cases in and Around South Trivandrum District, Kerala, India},
journal = {American Journal of Laboratory Medicine},
volume = {11},
number = {3},
pages = {64-71},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajlm.20261103.12},
abstract = {Background and objectives: Antimicrobial resistance among bacterial strains is an emerging problem. Urinary tract infections are one of the most common bacterial infections in humans, both in the hospital and the community settings. Multidrug resistance is seen in Klebsiella which serves as the most common cause of increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to isolate and evaluate the antimicrobial resistance pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae from UTI cases in and around southern part of Trivandrum district, Kerala. Materials and Methods: This retrospective work was carried out between December 2024 and September 2025, at the Microbiology diagnostic laboratory, Dr. SM CSI Medical College and Hospital, Karakonam, Trivandrum district, Kerala. 200 cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae culture positive cases of UTI from both inpatients and outpatients were included in the study. Midstream and catheterized urine were collected with proper precautions, as per their clinical conditions. The isolates were obtained by culturing the samples in conventional media and identified as per CLSI guidelines. Antibiotic susceptibility of each of the isolate was performed in Mueller Hinton agar by disc diffusion test and interpreted as per CLSI standards. For quality control, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883 strain was utilized. The collected data was entered in MS-Excel and statistical analysis was done using SPSS 17 software and were expressed as percentages. Results: Out of the 200 Klebsiella pneumoniae culture positive cases, >70 age group predominated (26.5%). Nearly two third of the cases were male. 62% of the cases were inpatients. Among the 124 inpatients, female medical ward cases predominated (41.9%) over other wards. There were 54 MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae positive cases, of the total 200 positive cases (27%), under study. Overall, 100% of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to the lifesaving drugs like, Colistin and Tigecycline, followed by Meropenem (75%), Cefoperazone/sulbactam (66.5%), Amikacin (63.5%) and Piperacillin/tazobactam (62%), in that order. Conclusion: Our study revealed emergence of MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae among UTI cases, evident by the finding of 27% of the isolates being resistant to all antibiotics used, except, Colistin and Tigecycline. Another important observation was the emergence of gentamicin, being a first line drug, as a more effective drug than the higher antibiotics, against some of the resistant strains isolated (58%).},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from UTI Cases in and Around South Trivandrum District, Kerala, India AU - Suresh Babu Y1 - 2026/08/24 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12 T2 - American Journal of Laboratory Medicine JF - American Journal of Laboratory Medicine JO - American Journal of Laboratory Medicine SP - 64 EP - 71 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-386X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajlm.20261103.12 AB - Background and objectives: Antimicrobial resistance among bacterial strains is an emerging problem. Urinary tract infections are one of the most common bacterial infections in humans, both in the hospital and the community settings. Multidrug resistance is seen in Klebsiella which serves as the most common cause of increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to isolate and evaluate the antimicrobial resistance pattern of Klebsiella pneumoniae from UTI cases in and around southern part of Trivandrum district, Kerala. Materials and Methods: This retrospective work was carried out between December 2024 and September 2025, at the Microbiology diagnostic laboratory, Dr. SM CSI Medical College and Hospital, Karakonam, Trivandrum district, Kerala. 200 cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae culture positive cases of UTI from both inpatients and outpatients were included in the study. Midstream and catheterized urine were collected with proper precautions, as per their clinical conditions. The isolates were obtained by culturing the samples in conventional media and identified as per CLSI guidelines. Antibiotic susceptibility of each of the isolate was performed in Mueller Hinton agar by disc diffusion test and interpreted as per CLSI standards. For quality control, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883 strain was utilized. The collected data was entered in MS-Excel and statistical analysis was done using SPSS 17 software and were expressed as percentages. Results: Out of the 200 Klebsiella pneumoniae culture positive cases, >70 age group predominated (26.5%). Nearly two third of the cases were male. 62% of the cases were inpatients. Among the 124 inpatients, female medical ward cases predominated (41.9%) over other wards. There were 54 MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae positive cases, of the total 200 positive cases (27%), under study. Overall, 100% of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to the lifesaving drugs like, Colistin and Tigecycline, followed by Meropenem (75%), Cefoperazone/sulbactam (66.5%), Amikacin (63.5%) and Piperacillin/tazobactam (62%), in that order. Conclusion: Our study revealed emergence of MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae among UTI cases, evident by the finding of 27% of the isolates being resistant to all antibiotics used, except, Colistin and Tigecycline. Another important observation was the emergence of gentamicin, being a first line drug, as a more effective drug than the higher antibiotics, against some of the resistant strains isolated (58%). VL - 11 IS - 3 ER -