Bacteriological Profile and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Blood Stream Infection Suspected Blood Samples Referred to Adama Public Health Research and Referral Laboratory, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Blood stream infection (BSI) is characterized by the presence of microorganisms in blood circulation and is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It can range from self-limiting infections to sepsis, multiple organ failure, and even death. In Ethiopia; few studies are conducted on BSI and antimicrobial resistance profiles of bloodstream infection causing bacterial species. However, there is no data regarding the bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility for BSI suspected blood samples referred to APHRRL. Therefore, the objective of this study was aimed to study bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns on BSI suspected blood samples referred to APHRRL. For these purpose a cross sectional study on 252 blood samples suspected of BSI referred from August2022 to May 2023 to APHRRL was conducted. The samples were processed following standard microbiological techniques to identify the bacteria. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done on pure culture isolates by disc-diffusion method for the commonly used antimicrobials in the study area. Of these samples, 150 (59.52%) were males and 102 (40.48%) were females with age ranges from two days to 84 years old. Out of 252 blood culture results, 88 (34.9%) (60 males and 28 females) were culture positive. The most prevalent bacterial isolates were Cougulase Negative Staphylococcus 21(23.9%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus 17(19.3%), Klebsiella species 13(14.8%), Enterobacter species 10(11.4%), Escherichia coli 7(8%) and Streptococcus species 7(8%), which together accounted for >85% of the isolates. Forty eight percent bacterial isolates constituted gram-negative, while 51.3% were gram-positive bacteria species. In the present study, the ranges of resistance for gram positive and negative bacteria were from 41.2-100%, and 25-100%,respectively. High levels of resistance to the majority of tested antimicrobial were observed in the isolates. From the total of 12 antimicrobials used in this study, 11 of them were found to be resistant to all the isolates. The present study revealed that both grams positive and negative bacteria were responsible for the cause of BSI and found to be not active against the commonly prescribed antimicrobial in the study area. As a result, careful selection of antimicrobials during prescription should be taken into consideration because the majority of isolated bacteria currently identified in use in the study area showed high rates of resistance to the most common antimicrobials.