Bacterial Bloodstream Infections – Prevalence, Etiology, and their Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile in Mumbai City

Aim: To study bacterial bloodstream infections concerning prevalence, etiology, and antibiotic susceptibility profile of pathogens in Mumbai City

Study Design: Retrospective study

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, InfeXn Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Thane

One-year duration: January 2019- December 2019

Methodology: The present retrospective study was performed on around 9397 adult and pediatric blood samples by using a rapid, accurate, and high throughput automated blood culture system for timely diagnosis of BSI.

Results and Discussion: Bloodstream infection (BSIs) is considered a medical emergency as it is associated with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. The prevalence of BSI-causing bacteria and their Antibiotic susceptibility (AST) profile vary as per age, season, geographical location, etc. With a large cohort of 9397 samples, the total positivity rate was 17.47 % with gram-negative bacteria (67.69%) being more common than gram-positive (32.30%) in both adult and pediatric populations, with a peak in the Monsoon season. Escherichia coli (26.17%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (27.31%) were the most isolated pathogens in the adult and pediatric populations, respectively. Carbapenemase production was seen highest in the non-fermentor group of bacteria (42.85%) whereas ESBL production was seen more in the Enterobacterals group (53%). Except for MRSA, gram-positive bacteria showed a very good susceptibility profile to the listed antibiotics. There was no case of VRE observed in the study.

Conclusion: The study highlights the need for regular monitoring of BSI-causing bacteria and their antibiogram, which can help better to formulate empirical treatment strategies, controlled use of antibiotics, monitoring trends in drug resistance, and antibiotic stewardship.