ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS OVER 5 YEARS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY FROM A SOUTH INDIAN TERTIARY REFERRAL CENTRE

Dr. Rohitha S. Chandra*, Dr. Sreevalsan T. V.

Staphylococcus aureus is a part of the commensal nasal flora in about 30% of individuals. However, it has the potential to cause serious community and healthcare-associated infections. This retrospective study was conducted to analyse the changing antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus over 5 years from 2019 to 2023. 3210 isolates from different clinical samples were analysed. Susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer and automated (Vitek-2) methods. Our study revealed that penicillin resistance continued to increase while azithromycin sensitivity did not change significantly over this period. Cotrimoxazole and Clindamycin resistance showed a declining trend. Tetracycline has retained good susceptibility profiles over time. No resistance to Linezolid was noted.