Background: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a major complication of Diabetes Mellitus. The International Working Group on Diabetic Foot defines DFU as a “full-thickness lesion of the skin distal to the malleoli in a person with Diabetes Mellitus”.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinico-microbial profile of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and the pattern of antimicrobial susceptibility.
Methods: This hospital-based, prospective observational study was conducted among patients with diabetic foot ulcers in the Department of General Surgery at Era’s Lucknow Medical College \& Hospital, Lucknow, after taking written informed consent.
Results: Pseudomonas was found in 39 (18.2%) cases, coagulase-negative Staph aureus was found in 23 (10.7%) cases, Acinetobacter was found in 80 (37.3%) cases, E. coli was found in 56 (26.1%) cases, Proteus spp was found in 13 (6%) cases, Staph aureus was found in 23 (10.7%) cases, Acetobacter was found in 1 (0.46%) case, and Enterococcus was found in 2 (0.93%) cases. A single organism was involved in 48 (47.1%) cases, while multiple organisms were involved in 54 (52.9%) cases in our study. In our study, 83 (81.3%) cases were gram-negative and 11 (10.7%) cases were gram-positive.
Conclusions: According to microbial culture, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, E. coli, and coagulase-negative Staph aureus were the most commonly found organisms in diabetic foot ulcers. These findings suggest that appropriate management of diabetic foot ulcers should involve selecting an appropriate antimicrobial agent based on microbial culture and susceptibility testing.
