Abstract
Background. Klebsiella pneumoniae is part of the ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, K. pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.) group of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. K. pneumoniae is the leading cause of antimicrobial resistance-associated mortality and the second leading cause of nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSIs), globally and in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, it was aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance patterns of K. pneumoniae isolated from blood cultures of patients with features of sepsis at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda. Methods. The cross-sectional study on patients with features of sepsis utilized K. pneumoniae (n=30) isolated from positive blood culture specimens. The antibiotic resistance profile was determined by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute's Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, which was used to classify the isolates as susceptible, intermediate and resistant. K. pneumoniae isolates that were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins were subjected to extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) screening and confirmation using the double-disc synergy test using cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime-clavulanic acid and ceftazidime-clavulanic acid. The results were analysed for frequencies. Results. K. pneumoniae isolates showed emerging resistance to imipenem at 13% (4 out of 30) followed by amikacin at 17% (5 out of 30). There was intermediate resistance to gentamycin at 60% (18 out of 30). However, K. pneumoniae showed the highest resistance to piperacillin at 100% (30 out of 30) followed by sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim and cefepime, both showing a percentage of 97% (29 out of 30). Up to 16 out of 30 (53.3%) of K. pneumoniae were positive for ESBL production, whilst 14 out of 30 (46.7%) were negative. Conclusion. There was a high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae isolates from BSI of patients with features of sepsis in Uganda's Mulago National Referral Hospital.