Etiologic agents and antibiotic susceptibility of pathogens isolated from blood cultures of patients admitted to some hospitals in Kisangani city, Republic Democratic of Congo

Context and objective. Bacteremia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. However, data on bacteremia in sub-Saharan African countries are scarce. The aim of the study was to identify the etiological agents isolated in the bacteremia of patients admitted in several hospitals in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Methods. This was a series of suspected cases of severe infections admitted to five Kisangani hospitals (Cliniques Universitaires de Kisangani, Village pédiatrique, Hôpitaux généraux de références de Kabongo, Lubunga et de Makiso) between 2017 and 2019. Blood cultures were performed in BACT/Alert FA blood culture bottles. Organisms were identified using standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic sensitivity was determined using the Mueller Hinton agar diffusion method, as recommended by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Results. Of 2825 blood culture samples taken from patients, 338 (12.0%) were positive. The pathogens isolated included, Staphylococcus aureus (25.7%, n = 87), Salmonella Typhi (19.6%, n = 66), Pseudomonas sp (16.0%, n = 54), Enterobacter sp (9.2%, n = 31), Klebsiella sp and E. coli (6.2%, n = 21), respectively. On sensitivity testing, almost all bacteria were sensitivity to the antibiotics tested, with the exception of Gram-negative bacteria, which were resistant to ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, gentamicin and third-generation cephalosporins. Conclusion. Strains of Enterobacteriaceae and S. aureus were the main etiological agents isolated from bacteremia. These strains were highly resistant to antibiotics commonly prescribed in routine practice. Received: July 7th, 2023 Accepted: June 6th, 2024 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/aamed.v17i4.2