Klebsiella pneumoniae is a clinically important opportunistic pathogen responsible for several infections, including urinary tract infections (UTIs). The emergence and rising prevalence of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae strains poses serious challenges to global public health and complicates treatment options. In this study, the antibiotic susceptibility of K. pneumoniae strains isolated from urine samples of hospitalized patients with UTIs in Duhok, Iraq was investigated against the most commonly used antibiotics in the region using the disc diffusion method (also known as Kirby-Bauer method). In a total of 170 urine samples collected, 25 isolates were identified as K. pneumoniae using morphological, biochemical, VITEK 2, and molecular methods. All the isolates tested were completely resistant to cephalothin, cephradine, and piperacillin. The resistance rate was found as 96% against rifampin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and ampicillin, followed by cefotaxime and amikacin (92%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and ceftriaxone (88%). A moderate level of resistance was detected against ciprofloxacin and doxycycline, with a resistance rate of 60 and 52%, respectively. The lowest resistance was observed against gentamicin (20%), tetracycline (16%), and imipenem (4%). Most of the strains (88%) were multidrug-resistant (MDR) and 12% were extensively drug-resistant (XDR). These findings indicate a significantly high prevalence of multidrug resistance among clinical K. pneumoniae strains from UTI patients. Imipenem was the most effective drug among the tested agents, suggesting that carbapenems may still serve as a reliable treatment option.

Antibiotics, Pathogen, Multidrug resistance, Urinary tract infection, VITEK 2