Introduction: Infections at surgical sites are a major problem all over the world. Pathogens linked to postoperative infections are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, which presents a significant therapeutic challenge for surgeons and raises the financial burden placed on patients. The study aimed to find the prevalence of multidrug resistance among patients with surgical site infections in a tertiary care centre.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from 3 November 2022 to 2 May 2023 among post-operative patients with surgical site infection after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. Swab samples were sent for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval.
Results: Among 147 patients with surgical site infection, the prevalence of multi-drug resistance was 95 (64.63%) (56.90-72.36, 95% Confidence Interval). Among them, 51 (53.68%) patients were in the 21-40 years age group and most of them were male 53 (55.79%).
Conclusions: The prevalence of multidrug-resistant cases was similar to other studies done in similar settings.
Keywords: antimicrobial drug resistance; multidrug resistance; Staphylococcus aureus; surgical site infection.