Frequency of different uropathogens in diabetic patients of Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of commonly found uropathogens causing urinary tract infection in diabetic patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional, Descriptive study. Setting: Department of Medicine and Endocrinology MTI DHQ Hospital Bannu. Period: 1^st December 2021 to 1^st March 2025 with the duration of study over 4 years. Methods: In this study, midstream urine of about 125 diabetic patients (25-35 ml) was obtained from each patient in a sterile, leak proof container and labelled for microbiological analysis. Two types of urine cultures were observed, positive urine cultures showing uropathogen growth and negative urine culture. Only positive cultures were further analyzed for uropathogen identification. Results: In this study, 62 urine samples showed uropathogen growth while 63 urine samples did not show any growth. About 80 % patients were female. E. coli was the most commonly observed uropathogen (54.8%), followed by Enterococcus spp. (12.9%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.1%), Candida albicans (8.1%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.5%). Conclusion: This study showed that most uropathogens causing urinary tract infection in diabetic patients belong to the Gram‑negative group, predominantly E. coli (54.8%), while other organisms such as Enterococcus spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Staphylococcus aureus were less frequent.