title: Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of leading bacterial pathogens isolated from laboratory confirmed blood stream infections in a multi-specialty sanatorium.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dealing with severe blood stream infections (BSI) is one of the intractable conditions in hospitals. The empirical treatment given remains pertinent in determining patient outcome, which becomes evidence based when substantiated by knowledge of susceptibility patterns of prevalent pathogenic organisms in the set up. This study was undertaken to determine the occurrence, species prevalence, and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of laboratory confirmed BSI (LCBSI) in patients admitted to our multi-specialty sanatorium.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight hundred and forty-six blood samples from 829 patients suspected of having BSI were cultured as per standard microbiological procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done for bacterial isolates from positive blood cultures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty (7.2%) cases were established as LCBSI. A total of eight pathogenic bacterial genera were identified and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern was noted. Staphylococcus spp. were most prevalent (33%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (20%), Escherichia coli (13%), Acinetobacter spp. (13%), Enterococcus spp. (12%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3%), Proteus spp. (2%), and Citrobacter spp. (2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study shows the prevalence of common bacterial pathogens causing BSI and their susceptibility patterns. Such studies provide benefit of instantaneous choice of antibiotic therapy aiming at improved patient management and reduced drug resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Delhi State Cancer Institute, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Nishat H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Structural Biology Unit, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Tabish
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hussain
keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility; Drug resistance; Laboratory confirmed blood stream infections