Bacterial Profile among Patients with Suspected Bloodstream Infections in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction The burden of bloodstream infections (BSIs) has been warranted in Ethiopia. Globally, the emergency and raised resistance rate of bacterial antimicrobial resistance is becoming a prominent problem, and it is difficult to treat patients having sepsis. In this review, we aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of bacterial isolates among presumptive patients with bloodstream infections in Ethiopia. Methods A systematic search was performed from PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, HINARI, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar electronic databases using PRISMA guidelines. The data analysis was carried out using STATATM version 14 after the records were cleaned and sorted out. Results A total of 26 studies with 8,958 blood specimens and 2,382 culture-positive bacterial isolates were included for systematic review and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis derived a pooled culture-positive bacterial prevalence which was 25.78% (95% CI: 21.55-30.01%). The estimated pooled prevalence of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial isolates was 15.50% (95% CI: 12.84-18.15%) and 10.48 % (95% CI: 8.32-12.63%), respectively. The two common Gram-positive bacteria isolated from patients suspected of BSIs were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus with a pooled prevalence of 5.75% (95% CI: 4.58-6.92%) and S. aureus 7.04 % (95% CI: 5.37-8.72%). Similarly, the common Gram-negative bacterial isolates and their estimated pooled prevalence were E. coli 1.69% (95% CI: 1.21-2.16%), Klebsiella species 7.04 % (95% CI: 5.37-8.72%), Pseudomonas species 0.39% (95% CI: 0.08-0.70%), Salmonella species 1.09% (95% CI: 0.79-1.38%), and Streptococcus pyogenes 0.88% (95% CI: 0.54-1.22%). Conclusion The prevalence of bacterial isolates among presumptive patients suspected to BSIs in Ethiopia remains high. Furthermore, we found a remarkable variation in the pathogen distribution across the study setting.