Bitew AdaneMitiku MequanintTamere Eleni2025-08-132025-08-132023-06https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/6672Background: One of the leading causes of illness and mortality worldwide, bloodstreaminfections are frequently acquired in hospitals. As a result of the circulatory system's rapid spreadof microorganisms and their toxins, it is a serious, perhaps fatal illness that gets worse with time. Objective: To determine bacterial isolates and drug resistance patterns of bacteria recoveredfrom blood samples of hospital-admitted patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, AddisAbaba, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2021 and December 2022among hospitalized patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia,who were suspected of having septicemia. To isolate the bacteria, blood samples were taken.Bacterial culture was conducted following standard microbiological procedures. Agar diffusionwas used to isolate bacteria, and the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique was used to determinedrug susceptibility patterns on Muller Hinton agar. Data input and processing were conducted using version 26 of the Statistical Package for Social Science. Results: The study included 218 paired samples in total, and 66 (30.3%) of the blood samplescontained positive bacterial growth. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial isolates werefound in 62.2% and 37.8%, respectively, of positive blood culture findings. Staphylococcusaureus (34.8%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (15.2%) were the two most commonlyencountered gram-positive bacteria. Among gram-negative bacteria, the majority were Escherichia coli (15.2%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.6%). E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniaewere resistant to most antibiotics, whereas Staphylococcus aureus was identified as beingresponsive to oxacillin (78.1%) and resistant to penicillin (73.9%). Conclusion and Recommendation: This study identified a higher number of positive bacterial growths and resistance to penicillin and cephalosporin found for most bacteria. Therefore, thereis a need to perform blood cultures and sensitivity tests before empirical treatment and alsoimplementation of infection prevention should be strengthened.en-USbacteremia septicemia drug resistance blood culture Tikur Anbessa.Thesis