Epidemiology of antibiotic resistance of blood culture in educational hospitals in Rasht, North of Iran

INTRODUCTION: Septicemia is an emergency in medicine due to various dangers and lethality. In patients with septicemia, blood culture and other cultures should be done before antibiotic therapy. Determination of each isolated bacterium from blood culture and pattern of antibiotic sensitivity have an important role epidemiologically in a region and can assist physicians in the determination of primary antimicrobial agents. In this study, the researchers evaluated the schema of resistance of antibiotics in blood culture during the years 2014–2015 at eight educational hospitals in Rasht, North of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The researchers evaluated all blood cultures performed at four educational hospitals in Rasht. Demographic data were completed by a checklist, and antibiotic sensitivity antibiogram for all blood culture samples was done by diffusion agar (Kirby–Bauer method). Data were entered and analyzed in the SPSS software version 16, and the pattern of resistance, sensitivity, and intermediate antibiogram results was classified. RESULTS: From 3,283 cases, 225 subjects were positive (6.85%). Sixty-two percent of patients were male and others were female. The most common agent in the samples were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (66, 29.3%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (including Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus; 50, 22.2%), coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus (29, 12.9%), and Escherichia coli (28, 12.4%). The most resistant antibiotic was ceftriaxone (44%), and the most sensitive antibiotic was ciprofloxacin (54%). CONCLUSION: According to significant changes of microorganisms that cause sepsis and meaningful alterations of antibiogram findings, the current findings showed that choosing the best choice for empiric therapy should be corrected. The rate of positive samples in the current study was higher than the normal range. Consulting with a pharmacist for antibiotic prescription in hospitals and participation of physicians in antibiotic administration workshops could help decrease resistance.