Bacterial Profile and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns in Sterile Body Fluids Among Patients at Minilik II Comprehensive Specialized Hospital and Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa

Background: Sterile body fluids (SBF) are fluids that, under typical human body conditions, do not contain any microorganisms, which are important in transporting nutrients as well as waste products, regulating body temperature, and assessing the respiration process. The SBF infections are a serious and urgent condition that requires immediate treatment because untreated infections at SBF sites can lead to severe, potentially life-threatening infection throughout the body. Objective: This study is designed and aimed to assess the bacterial profile of sterile body fluid (SBF) infection and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns from patients attending at Minilik II Comprehensive Specialized Hospital and Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa. Method: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2024 to June 2024 at Minilik II Comprehensive Specialized Hospital and Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College in Addis Ababa. A total of 186 study participants were recruited using convenient sampling techniques. Any consenting patients submitting SBF specimens (CSF, pleural, synovial and ascetic fluid) for testing at clinical laboratory were included and analyzed using conventional culture methods and biochemical tests. The antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) was determined using the disk diffusion method and interpreted as per Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Data was entered into IBM SPSS version 27.0 and analyzed. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was used. Result: A total of 186 SBF, including CSF, pleural, synovial, and ascetic fluid. Pleural and CSF fluids, respectively, were the most dominant samples in the study. This study revealed a 9.1% (17/186) prevalence of bacterial SBF infection. From the overall 17 isolated bacteria, 70.6 % (12/17) were gram-negative bacteria. From the isolated bacteria, K. pneumoniae and E.coli were the frequently isolated bacteria. The highest bacteria isolates were found in < 10-year-old participants and CSF samples. In the present study, from the isolated bacteria, 70.6 % (12/17) showed MDR pattern for the antibiotic drugs tested. Conclusion: The prevalence of bacterial isolates in this study from SBF was remarkable, and Klebsiella pneumonae was found as the most dominant etiologic agent for SBF infection. Higher resistance of bacteria for 3rd-generation cephalosporin was recorded. Culture and AST practice with continuous surveillance should be an integral part of the laboratory investigation for better outcome and management of patients’ national concerns.