Bacterial Profile and Their Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern in Pediatric Septicemia from Tertiary Care Hospital.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Blood stream infection is a life-threatening infection, leading to increased
morbidity and mortality in pediatric population. Antimicrobial drug resistance is a major therapeutic
challenge and may result in treatment failure. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the
bacterial profile causing septicemia along with their antimicrobial resistance pattern in pediatric population.
Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in pathology department of Hameed Latif Hospital,
Lahore, over a period of two years, from 1st January 2021 to 31 December 2022. Blood samples were
aseptically collected and were transferred into Bact/Alert blood culture bottle. After the detection of
microbial growth by Bact/Alert 3D system, bacterial isolates were identified by standard microbiological
procedures. Antimicrobial sensitivity pattern was determined by Modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion
method on Mueller Hinton agar. Data was entered and analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2010.
Results: In our study, out of 1306 blood culture samples, 217(16.6%) were positive for bacterial growth.
Among positive cases, Gram negative organisms were predominant isolates 181(83.4%), while Gram
positive organisms were isolated in 36(16.6%) samples. Most common bacterial isolates were S. typhi
(24%), A.baumanii (19%), P.aeruginosa (9%), while S.aureus and MRSA were 8% each. Highly resistant
class of drugs for Gram-positive bacteria were found to be Aminopenicillin (69.1%) and Macrolides (68.6%),
while Gram-negative organisms showed maximum resistance against Tetracycline (72.9%), Fluoroquinolones
(62.1%) and Cephalosporins (61%).
Conclusion: Bacterial isolates clinically suspected cases of septicemia were high. Majority of bacterial
isolates showed maximum drug resistance against different classes of antibiotics. To prevent antibiotic
resistance, strict guidelines of antibiotic utilization and infection control programs should be implemented.