Frequency of microorganisms in children presenting with acute fever at the outpatient department.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the incidence of blood stream bacterial infection and the frequency of microorganisms involved as evaluated by blood culture in children presenting with acute febrile illness at the outpatient department. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Mardan Medical Complex, Mardan, Pakistan. Period: 1^st March 2023 to 31^st of August 2023. Material & Methods: A total of 252 children from both genders between the ages of 1 month to 15 years presented at outpatients department with fever (≥ 38.0 °C or 100.4 °F) for ˃ two days were included in the study using consecutive sampling technique. The blood cultures of these children were sent to the laboratory for investigations. Bacterial strains were isolated and identified using standard microbiological techniques. The primary outcome was to determine the incidence of blood stream bacterial infection and the frequency of microorganisms involved. Results: The Mean±SD of age is this study was 4.20±3.42 years with an age range of 0.5-14 years. Male gender was 51.59% while female gender was 48.41%. The results of blood culture report showed that bacterial growth was present in 37 (14.68%) of total study patients. Out of these positive blood cultures, Gram-positive Cocci was reported in 16 (43.24%) of the children while Gram-negative bacilli were present in 21 (56.76%). The prevalence of E Coli was highest in these children 10 (27.02%) followed by S Typhi 8 (21.62%), Streptococcus pneumonia 5 (13.51%) and S aureus 4 (10.81%). Conclusion: It was concluded that the Gram-negative bacilli are the common cause of bacterial infection in children presenting with fever at outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in this region with most frequent presence of E Coli and S Typhi.