Abstract:
Majority of the patients in the study group comprised of adults (61.5 percent Leukemia was
the most common malignancy (§0.8 percent ) in the study population, followed by solid
tumours (16.8 percent ) and lymphoma (11.9 percent ). Sixty six (46.2 percent ) were
neutropenic. There were 43 blood culture isolates from 41 (29 percent ) patients.
Methicillin resistant stapih iococcus aureus (20 percent ) was the most frequently isolated
organism, followed by Coagulase negative staphylococcus (16.3 percent ), Pseudomonas
(11.6 percent ) and Coliforms (6.9 percent ).There was only one fnngal isolate. (2 percent ).
All Gram positive organisms were susceptible to vancomycin .. Pseudomonas and
Acinetobacter spp. had high susceptibility rates to a variety of antibiotics. There were no
extended spectrum beta lactamase producing organisms. There were 29 patients with
positive blood culture. Of these 72 percent were gram positive bacteria , 26 percent were
gram negative bacteria and 2 percent were fungi. Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
( MRSA) was the most common among the germ positive organisms. Pseudomonas spp was
the commonest isolate among gram negative organisms. This study revels that leukemia is
more frequently observed in the paediatric age group ( p-0.014) and bacteraemic episodes
are more frequently with leukemia . ( P-0.034).
