Aim: The Current research was performed to find out the prevalence of bacterial agents responsible for LRTI and to find out the associated risk factors. Material and Methods: Present cross sectional study was performed in the department of Microbiology, Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Science, Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat. Total 200 samples including expectorated sputum and Endotracheal tube (ET) aspirates were collected from both OPD and IPD patients with clinically diagnosed Lower Respiratory Tract Infection. Expectorated sputum was collected into a sterile container with a screw cap that is tightly secured following proper instructions given to the patient. ET aspirates were transferred to a sterile screw cap container with the cap tightly secured before transport. Analysis was done using SPSS version 15 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL, USA) Windows software program. Results: Among the 200 samples processed, sputum and ET aspirates were 190 and 10 respectively. Out of these 38.5% samples acquiesced noteworthy development and rest of 61.5% demonstrated either no growth or modest growth which was measured as no growth. Gender and age wise allocation showed maximum number, (35.25%) of culturally confirmed LRTI cases were in the 61 – 71 years of age group. Klebsiella pneumoniae (55%) was the predominant pathogen, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20%), Acinetobacter spp (10%), Citrobacter freundii (8%), Staphylococcus aureus (2%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (3%). Conclusion: LRTIs are frequently analyzed clinically, but etiological analysis could be completed by culturing different samples from patients which will assist clinician to set up precise treatment.

Keywords: Kutch; Lower Respiratory Tract Infections; Risk Factors; Sputum