The spectrum of pathogenic bacteria in positive blood cultures.

Abstract

There is compelling evidence to suggest that the profiles of pathogenic bacteria which cause septicaemia shock vary from one region to another due to differences in the source of contamination. Blood cultures were prepared from 3,481 patients with symptoms of systemic bacterial contamination. The blood cultures of 558 (16.02%) patients showed at least one kind of bacterial infection. This rate was markedly higher than that reported in Germany (12.8%) and Japan (12.3%). Systemic bacterial infection was significantly higher in males than in females (82% versus 18%). Most of the patients surveyed (62%) were adults and the rest were either infants (19%) or neonates (19%). When blood samples of these patients were cultured, and isolated bacteria were characterized by a variety of diagnostic tests, over twenty different strains of bacteria were identified and characterized. More than 29% of positive cultures were Enterobacter spp. while Staphylococcus aureus (20%) and Brucella spp. (8%) ranked second and third highest among the infections. The results suggest that agents which cause infections vary with respect to region and that knowledge of local risk factors may aid in patient diagnosis and treatment.