Sensitivity Patterns of Bacterial Pathogens Isolated from Blood Cultures of Under-Five Children with Pneumonia and Clinical Sepsis.

Treatment options for pneumonia and sepsis by antibiotics are limited due to the development of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. This unmatched case-control study determined the antibiotic sensitivity against bacterial isolates obtained from septic and nonseptic children with pneumonia. Children of either sex aged 0-59 months with a history of cough or shortness of breath and radiologically confirmed pneumonia were enrolled in this study. Cases with clinical signs of sepsis at admission ( = 151) were compared to cases without sepsis as controls ( = 107). A total of 205 children had a performance of blood culture, with 123 children suffering from clinical sepsis. Blood cultures showed bacterial growth in 19% of the septic samples, with 8% coagulase-negative and 2.4% species. Only 1.6% of the cases were infected by , , and . In contrast, children without sepsis presented positive blood cultures with growth of in 2.4% of the cases and growth of in 1.2%. Bacteria were sensitive to imipenem in 100% of the cases (86% for meropenem, 83% for ceftazidime and 76% for ciprofloxacin). The mortality rate was significantly higher in children with pneumonia complicated by sepsis (odds ratio (OR) = 3.02, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11-8.64, < 0.027). Knowledge about specific laboratory characteristics in children with pneumonia will facilitate an early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis and reduce mortality.