Bacteriological Profile of Septicemia in HIV-Positive Patients at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Bayelsa State

Septicemia in HIV-positive patients carries an exceptionally high case fatality rate and is frequently driven by opportunistic bacterial pathogens that differ from those in immunocompetent individuals. This retrospective cross-sectional study determined the bacteriological profile and antimicrobial sensitivity of organisms causing septicemia in HIV-positive adults admitted at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri, Bayelsa State, in the South South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Records from 2020 to 2023 of 250 HIV-positive patients with clinical features of septicemia were reviewed. Blood cultures processed by the BACTEC system were analyzed. Positive blood cultures were obtained in 58 percent of reviewed cases. Non-typhoidal Salmonella species were the predominant isolates at 29 percent of positive cultures, followed by Mycobacterium species in 17 percent and Cryptococcus neoformans in 14 percent of concurrent isolates. Gram-negative organisms showed high resistance to third-generation cephalosporins. Patients with CD4 counts below 200 cells per microliter had the highest bacteremia rates and worst outcomes. These findings emphasize the distinct and severe infectious disease burden in HIV-positive septicemic patients in Bayelsa State and advocate for aggressive empirical therapy, early CD4 monitoring, and strengthened blood culture laboratory capacity at NDUTH. Keywords: septicemia, HIV, Bayelsa, Salmonella, bacteremia.