Objective: To compare LED fluorescence microscopy and Ziehl-Neelsen staining in terms of their diagnostic performance in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis, taking sputum specimens from patients suspected of pulmonary tuberculosis. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Microbiology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi, from Jan 2019 to Dec 2019. Methodology: Sputum samples from patients with clinical suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis were stained using Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain, fluorescent stain with Auramine O staining (AO) stain and Mycobacterial culture on Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT 960), to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis. WHO guidelines were followed to grade positive smears. Results: Among 206 patients with suspicion of tuberculosis, 143 (69%) were male, and 63 (30%) were female patients. The mean age of the patients was 53.67 ± 14.73 years. Out of 206 sputum samples, 64 were negative by all three techniques used. 142 (68%) specimens detected Mycobacterium tuber-culosison MGIT960. Within 142 culture-positive samples, only 40 samples were positive on Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy, whereas 97 samples were detected positive by LED fluorescent microscopy. In culture-negative samples, three were missed on Ziehl-Neelsen staining, which was positive with Fluorescent microscopy. Sensitivity and specificity for Ziehl-Neelsen smear microscopy were 26.7% and 96.8%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for Fluorescent smear microscopy were 64.8% and 92.2%, respectively. Conclusion: We concluded that the efficacy of LED fluorescence microscopy has proven to have many potential advantages over conventional Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy.

Objective: To determine bacterial profile in adult sepsis with their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in our setup. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Microbiology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Dec 2018 to Dec 2019. Methodology: Paired blood culture was collected in automated bottles and was processed as per standard protocol. The isolates were further identified and their susceptibility was performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2019 guidelines. Results: A total of 580 suspected septicaemia cases were taken into consideration. 169 (29.4%) were positive on blood cultures. Among culture-positive samples, Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) accounted for 113 (66.3%) isolates, while the remaining 56 (33.1%) were gram-positive isolates. Within gram-negative isolates, the most common species were 36 (31.8%) Klebsiella pneumonia, followed by 27 (23.8%) Acinetobacter species and 15 (13.2%) Escherichia coli. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) was observed in 98 (86.7%) isolates. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production (ESBL) was reported in 73 (64.6%) of enterobacterial. Among 56 Gram-positive bacterial isolates, 25 (44.6%) were Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 23 (41%) were Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (MR-CONS). Of the isolates, 8 (14%) were Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). None of the MR-CoNS and S. aureus strains was resistant to vancomycin. Conclusion: Gram-negative bacilli outnumbered Gram-positive organisms in adult septicaemic patients. The majority of these organisms were multidrug-resistant, necessitating the need for timely culture and adjusting antimicrobials according to susceptibility profile.