Bacterial Isolates in Blood Cultures of Children with Suspected Septicaemia in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Background: Septicaemia is a common condition in children with a resultant high morbidity and mortality. The gold standard for diagnosis of septicaemia is the isolation of bacterial agents from blood cultures. Objectives: To determine the common aetiology of septicaemia in children and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Methods: A retrospective study with a review of blood culture reports of paediatric patients aged 0-15 years, suspected of septicaemia, from October 2006 to October 2008 in the Medical Microbiology department of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano. Kano. Nigeria was carried out. Results: Out of a total of 3840 blood culture samples, only 18.2% was culture positive. Gram – negative and gram – positive bacteria constituted 69.3% and 30.7% respectively. The most prevalent bacterial isolates were Escherichia coli (44.3%) and Staphylococcus aureus( 30.7%). Escherichia coli were sensitive to Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamycin and Clavulinate – Amoxyl . Conclusion: The commonest bacterial isolate from blood culture of children with suspected septicaemia in Kano is Escherichia coli. The most sensitive and preferable among the tested antibiotics is Ceftriaxone. Rational use of antibiotics with regular antibiotic susceptibility surveillance studies is recommended to maintain high antibiotic therapeutic profile.