Analytical Study of Blood Culture Pathogen Profiles and Antimicrobial Resistance in Septic Patients at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital

Antimicrobial resistance among bloodstream infection pathogens is an escalating threat to sepsis management in Nigerian tertiary hospitals, and pathogen-specific resistance data from North Central institutions are critical for guiding empirical antibiotic therapy. This study analytically examines the blood culture pathogen profile, resistance patterns, and clinical outcomes of septic patients at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State. A retrospective laboratory-clinical linkage design is applied to all blood culture-positive results over a three-year period from 2020 to 2022, cross-linked with corresponding clinical records. Variables include patient age, diagnosis at admission, source of sepsis, pathogen identified, antibiotic sensitivity profile, empirical antibiotic prescribed at admission, concordance between empirical therapy and sensitivity result, organ dysfunction using SOFA criteria, and 30-day mortality. Multivariable logistic regression in SPSS identifies predictors of in-hospital mortality. Available bloodstream infection literature from North Central Nigeria identifies Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli as the most frequently isolated organisms, with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production exceeding 50 percent among gram-negative isolates. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines and EUCAST breakpoints provide the clinical and resistance reference standards. Findings will inform the hospital's empirical antibiotic prescribing protocols and antibiotic stewardship programme. Keywords: blood culture, antimicrobial resistance, sepsis, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, North Central Nigeria.