Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common health-associated problem worldwide. Like other medical conditions, UTI patients may suffer from poor treatment outcomes due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Determining patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility in uropathogens will guide physicians to choose the best antibiotics for treating affected patients. In this project we aimed to evaluate the frequencies of pathogens associated with UTI and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. This study was conducted on 2692 urine samples of patients visited Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil city. Aerobic bacterial growth identification and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed using VITEK®2 compact system. Our data show that more than 20% of all studied samples were negative for bacterial growth; only 16.72% of them were pathogenic bacteria in which 82.44% of them were Gram negative bacteria (GNB) and the rest were Gram positive bacteria (GPB). Escherichia coli was the most frequent, and Acinetobacter baumannii was the most resistant GNB. Staphylococcus haemolyticus was the most frequent, and Enterococcus faecalis was the most resistant GPB. In general GNB were highly resistant to Ticarcillin and Cefepime, and GPB were also resistant to Ticarcillin, and Tigecycline antibiotics. The amount of negative culture growth indicates that symptoms only based diagnosis for UTI detection is unreliable. E. coli is the most UTI related pathogen, E. faecalis and A. baumannii were among highly antibiotic resistant bacteria. Finally, since many of GNG and GPB isolates were resistant to several antibiotics, there might be a high possibility for multi drug resistant among local population in Erbil.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) generates serious negative impacts on health-care systems worldwide, and Iraq is not an exception. To uncover the prevalence of AMR and to visualize the magnitude of the multidrug-resistant (MDR) dilemma in Iraqi hospitals, this study is carried out. A total of 11592 clinical records from ten different health-care facilities in seven Iraqi provinces are collected and analyzed. Our data show that 4984 (43.0%) of all clinical samples are negative for bacterial growth. In adults, Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) represented 48.9% and Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) represented 51.1% of clinical isolates; in children, GNB represented 60.8% and GPB represented 39.2%. Furthermore, in adults, Klebsiella pneumoniae (30.1%) and Staphylococcus aureus (40.8%) are among the most common GNB and GPB isolates, respectively. In children, K. pneumoniae (37.9%) and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (41.8%) are the most common GNB and GPB, respectively. Adults’ samples showed that Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis were the most resistant GNB; S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are among the most resistant GPB. In children, K. pneumoniae is found to be the most resistant GNB. This study confirms the persistence of antimicrobial resistance and multidrug-resistant gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria in adults and children alike. Ampicillin and oxacillin have been recognized as ineffective drugs in adults, and ampicillin, nafcillin, cefoxitin, and benzylpenicillin have been found to be highly resisted by pathogenic bacteria in children. The outcomes confirm the necessity of conducting AMR surveillance on a regular basis and establishing national antibiotic prescription guidelines to manage AMR development in Iraq.

Wound infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria can extend a patients’ debility and increase the expense of treatment in the long term; therefore, careful management of patients with wound infections is necessary to avoid complications. The usage of antimicrobial agent is a major factor in resistance development. This study aims to understand the causes of wound infections, as well as the criteria for diagnosing them for more sensible antibiotic prescribing. Samples from 269 wound patients were collected, and cultured for bacterial growth. Gram stain technique, bacterial identification via VITEK 2 compact system were investigated in this study. Gram negative bacteria accounted for 59.15% of the total isolates, while pathogenic gram positive bacteria accounted for 40.85% of total isolates. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the dominant pathogenic gram negative bacteria in wounds, while Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis are the dominant pathogenic gram positive bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed 100% resistance to the majority of antibiotic tested, including Ampicillin, Amoxicillin/Clavulanic Acid, Aztreona, Ceftriaxone, and others. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are 100% resistant to Ampicillin, Ceftriaxone, and Cefotaxime. For more efficient antibiotic prescriptions, the causative microorganisms, and their current susceptibility patterns need to be mandated for testing before prescribing any antibiotics to patients. Prescriptions are frequently based solely on general information about the antibiotic's function, rather than on individual response variation to the pathogen and the antibiotic. Particularly when the common pathogens in this study show multidrug resistance in wounds.

Recognition of etiologies of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) may help in delivering effective treatment options and circumvent emergence of antibiotic resistance. This study was carried out to uncover bacterial profile and antibiotic sensitivity patterns among 310 LRTI patients attended Rizagary Hospital between January 2014 to December 2016. Standard laboratory techniques were applied in collecting, processing, and culturing sputum and bronchial wash specimens. VITEK® 2 compact systems were used to identify bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns. Results showed that Streptococcus parasanguinis and Acinetobacter baumannii were the most abundant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (GPB & GNB), respectively, isolated from sputum specimens. From bronchial wash specimens, only GNB were detected and Serratia marcescens was the most abundant one. Antibiotic sensitivity tests revealed that Streptococcus parasanguinis was the most resistant GPB and Acinetobacter baumannii was the most resistant GNB. Sputum recovered GPB were highly resistant to Ampicillin, Erythromycin, Levofloxacin, Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole, and Tetracycline. Bronchial wash recovered GNB were highly resistant to Ampicillin, Minocycline, Pefloxacin, Piperacillin, and Ticarcillin. In conclusion, LRTIs are mainly associated with GNB rather than GPB. The recovered Streptococcus parasanguinis and Acinetobacter baumannii were found to be multidrug-resistant pathogens. Ampicillin was ineffective against any of recovered pathogenic bacteria.

Accumulated evidence suggests a tangible increase in breast cancer (BC) patients in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, yet data on their histological and molecular subtypes remain limited. This study aims to assess the prevalence, histopathologic features, and molecular profiles of BC incidences in Erbil. For this purpose, 261 clinical records of histologically confirmed BC cases from Rizgary Teaching Hospital are analyzed. Results reveal that invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) emerged as the most frequent histological subtype. In terms of hormonal receptor status, mastectomy patients who tested positive for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are 52.49%, 50.57%, and 18.01%, respectively, and the corresponding figures for Tru-Cut biopsy (TCB) patients are 24.90% for both ER and PR and 6.13% for HER2. Regarding tumor grading, mastectomy patients aged 51–60 have the highest grade II frequency, and TCB patients under 40 years and those between 41 and 50 years show the highest occurrence of the same grade. Moreover, tumor stages II and III made up nearly two-thirds of all cases across all age groups. For the molecular subtypes, luminal A is the most prevalent in both mastectomy and TCB patients. In conclusion, IDC is the predominant BC subtype in the region, with a higher prevalence of ER and PR positivity compared to HER2. Luminal A is the dominant molecular subtype. While stages II and III are common across all ages, tumors of grade II and stage II are frequently observed in older ages.