Indian Journal of Microbiology Research 6 (2019) 261–265 Content available at: iponlinejournal.com Indian Journal of Microbiology Research Journal homepage: www.innovativepublication.com Oroginal Research Article Bacteriological profile and antibiogram of blood culture isolates from paediatric patients with special reference to ESBL and MRSA in a tertiary care centre Hetal G Vaghela 1 , Bithika Duttaroy 1, *, Khyati C Prajapati 1 1 Dept. of Microbiology, GMERS Medical College and Hospital Gotri, Vadodara, Guajarat, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 24-07-2019 Accepted 03-09-2019 Available online 09-09-2019 Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility tests Blood culture Bacterial profile ESBL MRSA Paediatric Septicaemia ABSTRACT Introduction and Objective: Blood stream infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates and children. Blood culture remains the gold standard for their diagnosis. Emergence of multi drug resistant bacterial strains is a major problem in the management of sepsis. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns help to guide the choice of empiric antimicrobial regimen for the patients with bacteremia and septicaemia. The present study was undertaken to identify the common bacterial pathogens associated with paediatric sepsis and to determine their antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Material and Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out by reviewing the records of blood cultures received from clinically suspected paediatric patients of septicaemia between January to December 2017 in the Department of Microbiology, G.M.E.R.S Medical College and Hospital Gotri, Vadodara, Gujarat. 713 samples of blood cultures were received and processed during that period. The isolates were identified by conventional biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by Modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and the screened strains were further processed for detection of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBL) and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) according to CLSI guidelines. Results: Out of the 713 Blood cultures, 161 (22.58%) were culture positive, of which 120 (74.54%) were Gram negative isolates and 41 (25.46%) were Gram positive. MRSA was detected in 38.46 % of the Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) isolates. 54% of Klebsiella spp and 52.63 % of Escherichia coli were found to be ESBL producers. Conclusion: High rates of isolation of MRSA and ESBL stresses on the need for a continued screening and surveillance for antibiotic resistance in Paediatric Care Units, which will influence the appropriate empiric treatment and infection control strategies for prevention of septicaemia in paediatric patients. © 2019 Published by Innovative Publication. 1. Introduction Blood stream infections present a serious challenge to the clinicians as a major cause of death in the paediatric patients. 1,2 They constitute a medical emergency that requires timely detection and identification of the blood borne pathogens and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. 3 The rate of blood stream infections in children ranges between 20-25% in developing countries. 4 Blood culture remains the gold standard for laboratory diagnosis of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in infants and children. 5,6 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: drbithika@yahoo.com (B. Duttaroy). Although both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria are associated with these infections, Gram negative bacterial infections are more fatal and cause more serious therapeutic problems as multi drug resistant strains are more common among them. 7–9 In almost all cases, empiric antimicrobial therapy is initiated before the results of blood culture are available. 10 This needs to be done carefully as injudicious use of higher antibiotics leads to the development of multi drug resistant (MDR) organisms, specifically MRSA and ESBL producing bacterial isolates. With emergence of MDR organisms and wide variation in bacterial resistance pattern based on the geographical and regional location https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijmr.2019.057 2394-546X/© 2019 Published by Innovative Publication. 261