Bacterial Spectrum and Antibiotic Sensitivity in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Upon doing a comprehensive literature search, the authors were unable to locate any research pertaining to DFI in our demographic. The study has been planned as a result to determine the bacterial spectrum and antibiotic sensitivity in patients with diabetic foot ulcer presenting to tertiary care hospital.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the department of Medicine, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar from September 2024 till May 2025. 190 male and female patients diagnosed with diabetic foot ulcer were enrolled and evaluated for antibiotic sensitivity pattern.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 49.82±16.10 years. Majority of the participants were aging more than 45 years (n = 101, 53.2%) and 119 (62.6%) participants were male. 170 (89.5%) participants had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vancomycin was most sensitive was in 163 cases (85.8%) followed by piperacillin plus tazobactum in 160 patients (84.2%). Cotrimoxazole and ampicillin were the least sensitive agents recorded in 86 (45.3%) and 89 (46.8%) patients respectively.

Conclusion: In DFI, isolates were mostly sensitive to vancomycin and piperacillin plus tazobactam and least sensitive were ampicillin and cotrimoxazole.

Keywords: Diabetic Foot Ulcer, Antibiotics, Susceptibility Pattern, Public Health