Common Bacterial Isolates Associated With Neonatal Sepsis and Their Antimicrobial Profile: A Retrospective Study at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Azzah S Alharbi

doi:10.7759/cureus.21107

Abstract

BackgroundNeonatal sepsis is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among neonates. There has been considerable geographic variation in causative pathogens and antimicrobial sensitivity profiles over time. This makes the continuous monitoring of patterns of emergence crucial for the effective implementation of antimicrobial therapy guidelines in an attempt to control antimicrobial resistance.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted among neonates with sepsis admitted to King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between May 2011 and October 2018. The data were collected from medical records in the neonatal intensive care unit and analyzed using SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).ResultsThere were 246 neonates clinically diagnosed with sepsis, of whom 40 (16.26%) had positive blood cultures. In the blood cultures, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was the most prevalent microorganism (57.5%), followed by Klebsiella spp. (10%). Streptococcus agalactiae, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumanii, and Candida spp. each accounted for 5% of all isolates. Only single isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus spp. (2.5% each) were detected in this study. Most of the isolated microorganisms exhibited high sensitivity to ampicillin and gentamicin.ConclusionsThis study points to a likely emergence of coagulase-negative Staphylococci as the main cause of sepsis among neonates. Ampicillin and gentamicin are highly effective against the commonly isolated bacterial pathogens that cause neonatal sepsis.

Highlights

Neonatal sepsis, i.e., any sepsis determined in the first 28 days after birth, is widely prevalent and continues to be a substantial contributor to newborn mortality worldwide [1,2,3]
There were 246 neonates clinically diagnosed with sepsis, of whom 40 (16.26%) had positive blood cultures
Streptococcus agalactiae, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumanii, and Candida spp. each accounted for 5% of all isolates

Summary

Introduction

I.e., any sepsis determined in the first 28 days after birth, is widely prevalent and continues to be a substantial contributor to newborn mortality worldwide [1,2,3]. Sepsisrelated mortality is largely preventable with timely diagnosis and rapid treatment using effective antimicrobial agents [6]. Identifying the prevalent pathogens that cause neonatal sepsis and their sensitivity pattern will aid physicians in effectively initiating empirical treatment for such cases with the appropriate antimicrobial agents. There has been considerable geographic variation in causative pathogens and antimicrobial sensitivity profiles over time. This makes the continuous monitoring of patterns of emergence crucial for the effective implementation of antimicrobial therapy guidelines in an attempt to control antimicrobial resistance

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