& objectives: Enterococci are Gram-positive diplococci especially known to cause hospital associated infections. Intrinsic and acquired drug resistance is an important character of this organism and it is ranked next to E. coli in hospital associated infections. 1 Hospitalization and use of antibiotics increases their number, making the hospitalized patients prone to develop infections posing a therapeutic challenge to the treating clinicians. A study was, therefore, undertaken to compare

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... coccal colonization in the outpatient and inpatient subjects. Methods: Stool / rectal swab samples from 109 hospitalized and 58 outpatients were collected and evaluated for presence of enterococci. Standard biochemical and physiological tests were used for identification. The antibiotic sensitivity test was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Results were analysed statistically. Results: A total of 109 rectal swabs / stool samples from IPD cases and 58 stool samples from OPD group yielded 90.8% (99 of 109) and 37.9% (22 of 58) growth of enterococci respectively. Of the 109 IPD cases, all were receiving antibiotics while only 32 of 58 OPD patients were receiving antibiotics. All isolates were sensitive to vancomycin. The carriage of enterococci in IPD cases was significantly higher compared to the OPD cases. Interpretation and Conclusions: Enterococcal colonization increases with hospitalization and use of antibiotics. The clinicians must be aware of this phenomenon so as to avoid hospital associated infections by enterococci, especially in the light of their intrinsic and acquired drug resistance.