Providencia Causing Urinary Tract Infections: Are We Reaching a Dead End?

Ekadashi Rajni; Ashish Jain; Vishnu K Garg; Richa Sharma; Rajat Vohra; Srishti S Jain

doi:10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24163

Providencia Causing Urinary Tract Infections: Are We Reaching a Dead End?

Indian J Crit Care Med. 2022 Summer;26(4):446-451. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24163.

Authors

Ekadashi Rajni¹, Ashish Jain², Vishnu K Garg³, Richa Sharma¹, Rajat Vohra⁴, Srishti S Jain⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
³ Department of Anaesthesiology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
⁴ Department of PSM, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
⁵ Department of Critical Care, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Abstract

Background: The genus Providencia, earlier considered a rare pathogen, is now increasingly recognized as a notorious opportunistic pathogen capable of causing serious nosocomial infections, mainly urinary tract infections (UTIs). Treating these infections is an onerous task given the resistance seen in clinical strains to many currently available antimicrobials. The objective of the present study is to provide an overall view into the prevalence of Providenciaspp. causing UTIs, their antibiotic susceptibility pattern, and respective clinical outcomes.

Materials and methods: This is a retrospective observational study carried out in a tertiary care teaching referral hospital located in Jaipur, India from March 2021 to May 2021. All Providenciaspp. strains isolated from urine samples were included in the study. Data were entered in Microsoft Office Excel worksheet. Results are presented in numbers and percentages.

Results: Out of 1,261 urine samples processed in the laboratory during the study period, 426 were culture positive and the majority were gram-negative isolates and included Escherichia coli (46.0%) and Klebsiellaspp. (28.0%). Providenciaspp. was the fourth most common gram-negative pathogen (6.0%). The median age of patients was 65 years. The male:female ratio was 3:2 and maximum patients belonged to the 30-60-year age-group. Diabetes was the commonest associated comorbidity. All patients had an indwelling urinary catheter. Three (20.0%) patients succumbed to infections.

Conclusion: Providencia is an opportunistic pathogen that cannot be neglected due to escalating antibiotic resistance. Effective infection control and antibiotic stewardship policies are required to prevent the development of further antibiotic resistance.

How to cite this article: Rajni E, Jain A, Garg VK, Sharma R, Vohra R, Jain SS. Providencia Causing Urinary Tract Infections: Are We Reaching a Dead End? Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(4):446-451.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotic susceptibility; Nosocomial infection; Providencia; Urinary tract infection.