Oropharyngeal Pathogenic Bacteria: Carriage, Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern and Associated Risk Factors among Febrile Patients

Background: Pharyngeal and respiratory infections due to bacteria are global concerns especially because of the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains. The Oropharynx is one of the regions of the human body that is heavily colonized by microbial flora. So, the Oropharyngeal carriage is a major risk factor for an invasion and developing the disease. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the carriage rate of potential pathogenic Oropharyngeal bacteria, associated risk factors, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among febrile patients at AHMC. Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to April 2019. A systematic random technique was implemented to collect Oropharyngeal samples from 253 selected febrile patients. Specimen collection and processing were done following standard bacteriological procedures in Adama Public Health, Research, and Referral Laboratory. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using the disk diffusion method in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institutes guideline. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.  Results: Overall oropharyngeal bacteria carriage rate was 75.1%. A total of 190 bacterial organisms were isolated with 96 Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CNS), 55 Streptococcus pyogenes, and 19 Staphylococcus aureus were dominant isolates among gram-positive. Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitides, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Escherichia coli were among gram-negative bacteria isolates. Living in urban, cigarette smoking, and poor oral hygiene was significantly associated with the Oropharyngeal bacterial carriage rate. The majority of CNS, S.aureus, and S. pyogenes were resistant to different classes of antibiotics. Conclusion: Potentially pathogenic Oropharyngeal bacterial colonization rate was high. Place of living and behavioral factors are risk factors that were associated with bacterial colonization of the oropharynx. Several bacterial isolates were resistant to frequently prescribed antibiotic classes. Therefore, determining the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates is important to intervene and prevent the risk of infection and also the emergence of multiple drug-resistant strains and disease management.