Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of neonatal sepsis in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Can Tho Children’s Hospital

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This study aimed to determine the causative organisms in neonatal sepsis and their antimicrobial resistance patterns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Can Tho Children’s Hospital in Vietnam. A retrospective descriptive study of neonatal sepsis was conducted from January 2018 to December 2019. A total of 139 neonates with positive blood culture was analyzed. Gram - positive bacteria (n = 84, 60.4%) were more common than Gram - negative bacteria (n = 49, 35.3%) and fungi (n = 6, 4.3%). Coagulase - negative Staphylococci (CONS) (28.3%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.2%) were the most common cause of Early - onset sepsis, while CONS (39.5%) and Staphylococcus aureus (22.1%) were predominant isolates of Late - onset sepsis. Almost CONS and S. aureus were resistant to ampicillin and oxacillin, but susceptible to vancomycin (92 - 94%) and lizenolid (100%). K. pneumonia was resistant to cefotaxime (67%) and gentamicin (30%), but susceptible to imipenem (92%). Conclusion: CONS, S. aureus and K. pneumoniae were the most frequent pathogens in neonatal sepsis in our settings. Almost these strains were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Change of first - line drugs should be based on the identification of isolated organisms and appropriate implementation of likely susceptible antibiotics would have a substantial impact on the outcomes.