Bacterial profiles, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates from medical equipment and inanimate surfaces of Shiek Hassan Yabare Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Jigjiga, Ethiopia

Hospital-acquired infections can be caused by bacterial-contaminated medical equipment and inanimate hospital surfaces, particularly in low-income settings. To assess bacterial contamination and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns from medical devices and inanimate surfaces. A hospital-based cross-sectional study has been conducted on medical equipment and inanimate surfaces from December 2022 to June 2023. Specimens were collected using sterile swabs from medical equipment and inanimate surfaces in aseptic conditions. Each specimen was isolated and identified through culture and biochemical tests in the laboratory. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using modified Kirby– Bauer disk diffusion according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (M 100 CLSI, 2020) guideline. Data were imported and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0. Study findings are put in words and tables. Of 125 medical devices and inanimate surfaces examined, 98 (78.4%) were positive for different bacterial contamination. From 98 (78.4%) contaminated medical devices and inanimate surfaces, 163 bacterial isolates were identified. CoNS species were the most frequent isolates (39.2 %) among gram-positive isolates; followed by S. aureus (22.1%) and Klebsiella spp (18.4%) were the most common gram-negative isolates, followed by E. coli (14.1%). Of the isolated bacteria, S. aureus and CoNS isolates exhibited high drug resistance to the commonly used drugs in the study area. Multidrug resistance was also observed among the isolated bacteria, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, high bacterial contamination of medical devices and inanimate surfaces of the hospital was indicated.