Antimicrobial Resistant Pattern of Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Pediatric Patients in Jordan

The present study was conducted to investigate antimicrobial resistant pattern of Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains isolated from clinical specimens of Jordanian pediatric patients during the period fromJanuary to December 2008. A total of 444 E. coli strains were isolated from clinical specimens and tested for their susceptibility to different antimicrobial drugs. Overall, high resistance rate was observed for ampicillin (84%), followed by amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (74.3%), cotrimoxazole (71%), nalidixic acid (47.3%), cephalothin (41%). Lower resistance rates were observed for amikacin (0%) followed by Cefotaxime (11%), Ceftriaxone (11.7%), ciprofloxacin (14.5%), Norfloxacin (16.5%), gentamicin (17.3%) cephalexin (20.9%), Ceftazidime (22.5%), cefixime (29.6%), and cefaclor (32.8%). Ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cotrimoxazole were found to be ineffective at in vitro inhibition of the E. coli of pediatric origin. Amikacin was highly effective for E. coli with susceptibility rate of 100%. The majority of E. coli strains were susceptible to third generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones.