Evaluating the trends of bloodstream infections and their Antimicrobial Susceptibility patterns in a tertiary care hospital, Kanchipuram, India

Background: Bloodstream infections are a major cause of illness and mortality in many nations and represent a serious global health concern. However, due to widespread of antibiotic resistance among the bacterial pathogens, ongoing monitoring of drug-resistant bacteria and their antibiogram is essential.Objective: The study was carried to know the trends of different bacteria’s involved in bloodstream infections and their responses to antibiotics.Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Microbiology, Meenakshi medical college hospital and research institute for a period of six-month from October 2024 to March 2025. Bacterial identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing were performed by using standard microbiological methods.Results: A total of 508 samples were collected during the study period of which 11% showed blood culture positivity. Male (54%) preponderance than female (46%) exists in this study. Among the culture positivity Gram positive organisms (55%) shows high predominance than Gram negative organisms (45%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) (28%) was the most common isolated blood-borne bacterial pathogen in this study, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (23%), E. coli (17%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9%) respectively. Cotrimoxazole (85%), showed the highest sensitive in gram positive bacteria followed by Tetracyclin (81%) & Gentamicin (74%). Ciprofloxacin (92%), & Gentamicin (92%) showed the highest sensitive in gram negative bacteria followed by Cotrimoxazole (90%), Tetracycline (84%), and Piperacillin/tazobactam (68%).Conclusion: It is essential to conduct routine epidemiological investigations of BSIs to determine the bacteria and its antibiotic susceptibility pattern. This information helps clinicians to choose appropriate empirical treatment and update the hospital's antibiotic policy on a regular basis.