Blood Stream Infections at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kashmir : Bacterial Etiology and Antibiotic Susceptibility

Abstract

Background: Bloodstream infections (BSI) remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients among all age groups world-wide. The key to successful treatment and outcome of BSI is the knowledge of its changing etiology and antibiotic sensitivity in a given geographical area.

Material and methods: This prospective study was conducted over a period of two years in a tertiary care hospital in North India. All patients admitted in hospital with documented BSI were included in the study. The demographic profile, clinical presentation, culture isolates and corresponding antibiogram were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results: Among  total of 136 patients with BSI enrolled in study, 84(62%) were males and 52(38%) females. 41.2% patients were more than 60 years age. 104(76.5%) patients had hospital acquired and 32(23.5%) had community acquired BSI. Gram negative organisms were isolated in 78.7% patients and 18.4% isolates were Gram positive. The commonest Gram-positive organism was S.aureus (56%) and the commonest Gram-negative isolate was B.cepecia (38.3%). The most sensitive drugs for Gram-positive bacteria were vancomycin, linezolid and teicoplanin while Gram negative isolates showed high sensitivity to colistin, tigecycline and amikacin.

Conclusion: Gram-negative bacteria are common pathogens for BSI in our population. A higher rate of antimicrobial resistance is an alarming issue especially in patients with hospital-acquired infections.