Characterisation of the Bacterial Profile of Postoperative Wounds in Patients Attending the University of UYO Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Abstract

The skin acts as a protective barrier against microbial and toxic agents; disruption of this barrier may permit bacterial contamination and infection. This study characterised the bacterial profile of postoperative wound specimens obtained from patients attending the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH). A total of 108 wound isolates were examined using morphological and biochemical characteristics. Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent isolate (40.7%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (25.9%), Klebsiella spp. (13.0%), Escherichia coli (11.1%) and Proteus spp. (9.3%). Isolates were recovered slightly more frequently from male patients (51.9%) than from female patients (48.1%); however, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.8722). The highest reported total occurred in the 41-50-year age group (28), whereas the 71-80- and 81-90-year groups had the lowest reported totals (two each). The distribution across age groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.2305). These findings indicate that both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were recovered from postoperative wound specimens at UUTH and support timely microbiological investigation of clinically suspected wound infection.