Bacteriological Profile of Wound Infections in Patients at Federal Medical Centre Nguru, Yobe State

Wound infections remain a major cause of prolonged hospitalisation and treatment failure in Nigerian hospitals, particularly in North East facilities serving populations with limited access to prophylactic care. This study determines the bacteriological profile of wound infections among patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Yobe State, North East Nigeria. Wound swab samples were collected aseptically from 100 patients with infected wounds across medical, surgical, and emergency wards over four months. Standard cultural isolation on blood agar and MacConkey agar, Gram staining, and biochemical identification were performed on all isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility testing used the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method against eight commonly prescribed antibiotics. Gram-positive organisms accounted for 46 percent of isolates, with Staphylococcus aureus (32 percent) predominating, while gram-negative bacteria were dominated by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18 percent) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (16 percent). Polymicrobial infections were identified in 28 percent of wound samples. Resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline exceeded 75 percent across isolates. Meropenem and ciprofloxacin showed the best overall efficacy. Diabetic wounds and post-surgical wounds showed the most resistant profiles. The study recommends standard wound management protocols, culture-guided therapy, and infection control education for nursing staff at the facility. Keywords: wound infection, Staphylococcus aureus, bacteriological profile, Yobe State, antibiotic resistance