Clinicomicrobiological Profile of Podiatric Infections: A Prospective, Cross-sectional Study

Introduction. Podiatric infections are common in patients with and without diabetes. Biofilm detection would aid in determining the severity of foot infections and preventive strategies to manage them. Objective. The authors studied the clinicomicrobiological profile of podiatric infections. Materials and Methods. Organisms from podiatric specimens were identified and the antibiotic susceptibility of the organisms determined using standard microbiological methods. Organisms were screened for biofilm production using the microtiter plate method. Staphylococcus aureus isolates were screened for ica, cna, and hlg genes by multiplex PCR. Results. A total of 117 patients were included in the study, and specimens from 71 patients were culture positive (60.6%). Gram-negative bacteria were predominant (n = 88 [73.3%]). S aureus (n = 32 [26.7%]) was the most common isolate. The rate of biofilm production was 54.2%. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most prevalent biofilm producer (82.8%). The study revealed a statistically significant association of biofilm formation with MDR, MRSA, and prior antibiotic therapy with multiple (≥4) antibiotics. Conclusion. Isolation of MRSA or MDR strain from diabetic foot infections could alert the clinician to the possibility of treatment failure with a single drug regimen owing to associated biofilm production. Detection of biofilm producers and subsequent early debridement and/or cleaning of wounds might prevent chronic infection.