Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Bacterial Isolates from Urine Samples from Female Patients Suffering From Urinary Tract Infection at Tertiary Care Center in South India

Introduction:  The frequency of bacteria affecting urinary tract and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern vary from one territory to another. This study was conducted to determine spectrum of bacterial isolates causing UTI and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern among female patients attending tertiary care center Materials and Methods: A total of 577 female urine culture sensitivity reports (CS) were collected. The culture was done by inoculation by standard loop technique. Antibiotic susceptibility testing for identified bacteria was done by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and result was interpreted as per CLSI guidelines. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Infection rates were similar up to reproductive age group with no significant difference between gram-positive (GP) and gram-negative organisms (GN) but post reproductive age group suffered more from GN. The most commonly infecting organism was Staphylococci followed by Escherichia coli showing resistance in >50% tests to cephalosporins, penicillin and fluoroquinolones. All antibiotics are showing resistance from one or the other organisms. Conclusion: The commonly infecting bacteria are developing resistance to regularly used antibiotics raising concerns of cross resistance and selection of antibiotics. This warrants due diligence by all stakeholders, including public-health authorities, health care providers, policymakers and even the public to prevent and control antimicrobial resistance

Effect of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Authorship Gender Disparities in the Ophthalmology Literature

Background Studies in several fields of medicine have found that women published less during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially due to an increase in domestic responsibilities. This study examines whether a similar pattern exists for female authorship in ophthalmology. Purpose To compare the proportions of female authorship published in high-impact ophthalmology journals before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study analyzing authorship gender of articles published during the COVID-19 pandemic (between July and September 2020) compared with matched articles published in the same journals before the COVID-19 pandemic (between July and September 2019). Gender of the first and last authors was analyzed using an online gender determination tool. Results A total of 577 articles and 1,113 authors were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the average number of publications by male and female authors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant increase in the percentage of female first authorship from the prepandemic period (32%) to during the COVID-19 pandemic (40%; p = 0.01), but no significant increase in the last authorship (p > 0.05). When analyzing only research articles, a similar increase in female first authorship was noted when comparing the publications before (31%) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (43%; p = 0.02). No significant differences were noted when analyzing the editorials (p > 0.05). Conclusion While disparities continue to exist between male and female authorship, an increase in female first authorship was noted during the COVID-19 pandemic for overall articles as well as research articles. Precis During the COVID-19 pandemic, female authorship as first and last authors of peer-reviewed articles in high-impact ophthalmology journals was below 50%. However, while the overall rates of female authorship were unchanged, female first authorship significantly increased during the pandemic. These results differ from studies published in other medical fields that demonstrated a decrease in female authorship during the COVID-19 pandemic

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