Antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm forming ability of isolated from Jordanian patients with diabetic foot ulcer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Microbial biofilm is characterized by the irreversible attachment of planktonic cells to a surface and is usually associated with high antimicrobial resistance with worsening the wound healing. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) of diabetic patients and to investigate antibiotic susceptibility patterns of these isolates. In addition to screen biofilm forming ability of isolated

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 112 non-healing wound swabs of diabetic foot patients were collected and cultured on different culture media to identify and characterize 98 isolates. The isolates were examined for their antibiotic susceptibility to different antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, isolates were evaluated for their biofilm production capability using the Tissue Culture Plate Method (TPC). The level of gene expression was determined by RT-PCR.

RESULTS

The results of this study showed that these non-healing wounds yield positive cultures, with an average of 1.67 organisms per sample. The isolates showed highest resistance against oxacillin (95.2%) and lowest resistance against linezolid (3.7%). All isolates were biofilm producers and a significant association with the gene expression level was recorded.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that isolates have a great ability to produce biofilms that are associated with the chronicity of wounds in diabetic patients. Routine screening for biofilm formers in chronic wounds and their antibiotic susceptibility testing will help in early treatment and prevent any other complications.