Diagnosis of Sepsis in Children Using the BACTEC Method

Background and purpose: Sepsis is a bacterial infection. Many patients lose their lives due to delayed diagnosis. The BACTEC method could be used for rapid and precise diagnosis of sepsis which can isolate different organisms in the shortest time with maximum sensitivity. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of positive blood cultures using the BACTEC in children with sepsis and to determine the type of pathogens. Materials and methods: A retrospective study was performed in 269 children hospitalized in different pediatric units in Sari Bouali Sina Hospital, who needed blood cluture in 2017-2019. Microbial diagnostic tests were conducted and antibiotic resistance was determined using the Kirby-Bauer test. Data analysis was done in SPSS V23. Results: Positive blood cultures were seen in 28.6% of the 269 samples. The most common gram-positive and gram-negative pathogenes were Staphylococcus aureus (n=20, 7.4%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=6, 2.2%), respectively. S. aureus isolates were highly resistant to ciprofloxacin (14.3%) and P. aeruginosa isolates were found to be highly resistant to meropenem, gentamicin, and nitrofurantoin (12.5%). Conclusion: For empirical therapy of sepsis with S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, vancomycin and ceftazidime are recommended, respectively.