Blood Culture Isolates and Antibiogram for Salmonella at Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine the pattern of blood culture isolates and antibiogram for salmonella at tertiary care hospital and identify frequency of multi-drug resistance and XDR.

Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional analysis was carried out on enteric fever/salmonella infected patients from 1-02-2020 to 31-10-2020 at Pediatrics Unit – II (Liaquat University Hospital). Children of either gender, aged 1 to 15 years, who presented with fever lasting more than 3 days, abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, or constipation, and who had a positive blood culture for Salmonella, were included. Data was collected into a structured questionnaire, containing enquiries pertaining to basic biodata, sociodemographic details, clinical presentation, and culture sensitivity (type of microbe and its drug sensitivity). The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS v. 21.0.

Results: Mean age of the children was 9.12 years, with males comprising 63.4%. Fever and abdominal pain were the most common clinical symptoms. In terms of antibiotic sensitivity, Cefixime and Ceftriaxone were effective in 83.9% and 85.7% of cases, respectively, while Ciprofloxacin showed 81.3% sensitivity. Both Meropenem and Azithromycin were 100% effective. Among the 14 multidrug-resistant cases, Ciprofloxacin had the highest resistance rate (11 cases), while Cefixime and Ceftriaxone were resistant in 9 and 8 cases, respectively. Meropenem and Azithromycin showed no resistance in any case.

Conclusion: Enteric fever remains a serious threat to child health, with rising multidrug resistance. While some drugs like Meropenem and Azithromycin are still 100% effective, they must be used carefully to prevent further resistance development.