ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Swathy Govindaswamy1 , Elankumar Subbarayan2, V.M. Jaishwanth3, Sri Sharika Anantha Kumar3, Swathi Santhosh3 and Swetha Anna Renji3
1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Pharmacy, SRIHER (DU), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Department of Plastic Surgery, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
3Department of Pharmacy Practice, KMCH College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Article Number: 9184 | © The Author(s). 2025
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2025;19(3):1948-1954. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.19.3.21
Received: 12 December 2023 | Accepted: 23 June 2025 | Published online: 13 August 2025
Issue online: September 2025
Abstract

Patients with diabetes mellitus frequently develop foot infections, which can progress to gangrene and ultimately limb amputation. This study aimed to determine the microbiological profile and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the causative agents of infections in diabetic feet. This six-month prospective observational study included 78 Type 2 diabetic patients with Wagner’s grade 1 or higher. The microbiological profile and patterns of antibiotic susceptibility of the agents responsible for the infections in diabetic feet were determined. Culture tests were carried out on the tissue or pus that had been removed from the ulcer bases. An analysis of antibiotic sensitivity was performed following the identification of the organisms. Gram-negative pathogens (88%) were more prevalent than Gram-positive pathogens (12%). It was found that 41% of the patients had polymicrobial disease. Escherichia coli (17%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17%), Staphylococcus aureus (13.8%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.7%) appeared to be the most frequent pathogens found in isolations. Ciprofloxacin was more resistant to Escherichia coli, whereas cotrimoxazole was more resistant to K. pneumoniae. In addition, Acinetobacter baumannii, a multidrug-resistant bacterium, was identified. The presence of multidrug-resistant organisms in diabetic foot infection treatment plan is important. The results of the present study further highlight the necessity of choosing antimicrobial treatments based on antimicrobial sensitivity patterns displayed by isolates and culture outcomes.

Keywords

Antimicrobial Susceptibility, Diabetic Foot Infections, Gram-negative Bacteria, Multidrug-resistance, Bacteriological Profile

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© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.