Bacteriological Profile of Neonatal Sepsis and Its Antibiotic Susceptibility Along with the Various Indicators of Mortality

Abstract

Background Neonatal sepsis is reported to be the 8th most common cause of under 5 mortality all over the world. Any delay in diagnosis is critical in contributing to neonatal mortality; thus, early diagnosis is necessary. Objectives To determine the risk factors, clinical features, hematological parameters, and bacteriological profile associated with neonatal sepsis and to assess the antibiotic sensitivity in SNCU. Methods This prospective study was conducted in SNCU of the tertiary care center of central India, over the duration of 1 year enrolling 150 participants. All the neonates suspected to be suffering from neonatal sepsis were included. Data was compiled using MS Excel and analyzed using IBM SPSS. Results Median age of neonates was 2 days (IQR: 1-5) with a male predominance. Median birth weight of neonates was 2 kg (IQR: 1.5-2.8). Blood cultures and antibiotic sensitivity revealed that most common organisms involved were staphylococcus aureus (34%; sensitive to penicillin, resistant to ampicillin) and klebsiella (20%; sensitive to colistin, resistant to clindamycin). 17.3% neonatal mortality was observed, amongst predictors of mortality, low birth weight, neonates delivered by LSCS, advanced maternal age, and leucopenia were significant predictors in univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusion Antibiotic resistance is one of the most important problems of public health importance which is rampant in cases of early, as well as late onset sepsis.