Background: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are one of the most important infections responsible for morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients worldwide. The emergence of resistant bacteria makes it a requisite to know the prevailing antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the pathogens causing bloodstream infections. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to analyze the various microorganisms causing BSIs and study the antimicrobial resistance patterns of Acinetobacter spp. in a tertiary care hospital. Material and methods: A total of 2700 blood specimens from clinically suspected cases of BSIs were studied for a period of 2 years from January 2017 to December 2018. Blood specimens were processed following aseptic guidelines and cultured for 7 days. Growth was identified using biochemical tests. All isolates of Acinetobacter spp. were subject to antibiotic sensitivity testing using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Result: Out of 2700 specimens, 404 (15%) yielded growth. Out of these, 48% were Gram positive isolates and 52% were Gram negative isolates. Among Gram positive isolates, Coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CONS) was the most predominant organism (31%) followed Staphylococcus aureus (11%). Among Gram negative isolates, Acinetobacter spp. (16%) were the predominant isolates, followed by Escherichia coli (10.6%), Citrobacter spp. (8%), Pseudomonas spp. (6.5%) and Klebsiella spp. (6%). Out of 64 (16%) isolates of Acinetobacter spp. 5 (8%) were multidrug resistant (MDR), 5 (8%) were extensive drug-resistant (XDR) and 2 (3%) were Pandrug-resistant (PDR). Conclusion: Successful treatment of sepsis depends on early diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial therapy. The knowledge of etiology and the antibiogram of isolated pathogens help in framing the antibiotic policies for any healthcare institute and improve infection control practices by formulating those policies for empirical antibiotic therapy.

Keywords: Bloodstream infections (BSIs); Sepsis; Blood culture, Antibiotic susceptibility testing; Multi-drug resistant (MDR); Extensive Drug-resistant (XDR); Pandrug-resistant (PDR); Intensive care unit (ICU).