Introduction: Urinary tract infections are among the most common infections diagnosed in outpatients as well as hospitalized patients. The sensitivity of uropathogens to different drugs varies in different areas which necessitates frequent studies of the causative uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency as well as antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the various pathogens causing urinary tract infections.

Materials & Methods: The study was conducted from April 2015 to September 2015 on 968 urine samples collected aseptically and sent for culture and sensitivity in the Department of Microbiology, SMIMER, Surat. All the urine samples were cultured on MacConkey agar and Blood agar. The isolates were identified by conventional biochemical methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method according to CLSI guidelines.

Results: Out of total 968 urine samples tested, 331 samples (34.19%) were culture positive. The most common bacterial isolate was E.coli 163 (49.24%), followed by Klebsiella spp 59 (17.82%), Pseudomonas spp 44 (13.29%), Acinetobacter spp 35(10.57%), Proteus Spp. 19 (5.74%) and Staphylococcus spp 11(3.32%). The uropathogens showed a very high level of resistance to Nalidixic acid (83.38%) and Norfloxacin (74.62%) whereas resistance to Nitrofurantoin (23.87%) and Netilmicin (28.10%) was low.

Conclusion: This study revealed that E. coli was the predominant bacterial pathogen causing urinary tract infections. The resistance pattern of uropathogens to common antimicrobial agents is changing and must be taken into account when selecting treatment strategies.