Emerging antibiotic resistance in bacterial bloodstream infections: a clinical study at the Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw, Ghana.

BACKGROUND

Bacteraemia, a critical bloodstream infection caused by various bacterial pathogens, poses significant health challenges, particularly when compounded by antibiotic resistance. This current study determined the prevalence of bloodstream bacterial isolates and their antibiotic-resistant patterns at the Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw, Ghana, spanning a six-year period.

METHODOLOGY: A hospital-based retrospective study was carried out to review records of bacterial isolates of bloodstream infections and their antibiotic-resistant pattern among patients who visited the Holy Family Hospital between 2018 and 2023. The data was collected into an Excel sheet version 2021, cleaned, and exported to the appropriate statistical software, SPSS v26 for statistical analysis. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses.

RESULTS

Of 3,228 records in this study, the majority (66.0%) were found to be under 1 year of age, while 18.6% were aged 1-10 years. The prevalence of bacteraemia was 8.7% (95% CI: 7.8-9.7%). Klebsiella species was found to be the most prevalent at 30.2%, followed by S. aureus (26.0%). The highest levels of antibiotic resistance were detected against tetracycline (94.5%), penicillin (92.3%), and chloramphenicol (90.9%). Also, significant resistance was also found against vancomycin (88.3%), cefuroxime (86.5%), and cloxacillin (84.4%). Conversely, amikacin demonstrated the highest susceptibility rate (90.5%), followed by ciprofloxacin (75.0%).

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the significant public health burden posed by bacteraemia and the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance. The prevalence of bacteraemia, particularly caused by Gram-negative organisms such as Klebsiella species and E. coli underscores the need for targeted interventions to improve infection control in healthcare settings.