Relevance Of Blood Culture To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Septicemia

Abstract

A study of septicaemia was conducted in Enugu metropolis with a view to determine the relevance of blood culture to the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. The subjects comprised of Six hundred and fifty (650) children and adults of both sexes aged between one day to 70 years having clinical features suggestive of septicaemia, who were on admission at University Of Nigeria Teaching Hospitals (UNTH), Enugu.  Their blood specimens were seeded into thioglycolateand glucose broths and incubated at 37 °C for 7 days. Subcultures were performed after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 days respectively. Growth (positivity) in the broths was assessed using conventional diagnostic methods namely macroscopy(visualization), Gram filming (microscopy) and culture. The bacterial isolates harvested were subjected to in-vitroantibiotic susceptibility tests using the disc diffusion method. Etiology was established in 104 out of 350 subjects indicating an incidence of 29.7%.

This difference in prevalence among different age groups was statistically significant(P < 0.01). The males (59/350, 16.86%) appeared to be more susceptible to septicaemia than the females (45/350, 12.9%) in all the age groups.

This variation had no statistical significance (P > 0.01). Monomicrobialsepticaemia had ahigher prevalence (91.3%) than polymicrobialsepticaemia (8.65%). Staphylococcus aureusand Escherichia coliconstituted 33.3%. Most of the offensive microbes were facultative anaerobes (93.3%) while very few were strict aerobes (7.69%) and strict anaerobes (1.92%). The isolated anaerobes were Peptostreptococcussp. (1%) and Bacteroidesfragilis(1%). The in vitro susceptibility of the bacterial isolates to antibiotics indicated 78.9-92.9% sensitivity to vancomycin, zinnat, peflacin and fortum. However, they were 60 – 90% resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline and septrin. This study confirmed the diverse nature of bacterial etiologies of septicaemia in Enugu metropolis; the need for the use ofthioglycolate broths, first subcultures on or before 24 h instead of starting off for after 48 h of incubation, complementary application of macroscopy, Gram filming and culture including antibiotic susceptibility test as an integral part of diagnosis and treatment of septicaemia is hereby advocated, most especially in the developing countries of the world.

Research Guidelines

The Title Page should be the first section of your project “Relevance Of Blood Culture To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Septicemia”, providing essential details like the project title, your name, your supervisor’s name, the institution, and the submission date. After that, the Abstract offers a brief summary of your project, touching on its purpose, methods, results, and conclusions in 150-300 words. The Acknowledgments section is where you can thank those who supported your research, such as your supervisor, peers, or organizations that provided resources.

Next, the Table of Contents organizes the Relevance Of Blood Culture To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Septicemia by listing its chapters and sections, along with page numbers for easy reference. The List of Figures and List of Tables help guide readers to specific visual elements like graphs, charts, or tables included in the document. There should also be an Abbreviations and Glossary section to explain any specialized terms or acronyms, making the content clearer to readers unfamiliar with the technical language.

The main body of the Relevance Of Blood Culture To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Septicemia should start with the Introduction, which provides background information, outlines the research problem, states your objectives, and gives a brief overview of your research methods. Following that, the Literature Review offers an in-depth look at previous research relevant to your project, identifying gaps your study aims to address. The Methodology section then explains the research design, tools, and data collection methods you used to conduct the project and analyze the data.

In the Results and Discussion section, you present your findings and discuss them in relation to the Relevance Of Blood Culture To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Septicemia research questions or objectives, often using tables or charts to help explain the data. The Conclusion summarizes the key results, discusses their implications, and suggests possible directions for future research. You may also include recommendations based on your findings, offering practical advice for improvements or applications. Finally, the Relevance Of Blood Culture To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Septicemia project should include a References or Bibliography section to list all the sources you cited, as well as Appendices for any additional material. A Statement of Originality is often included to confirm the authenticity of your work