Haemophilus parainfluenzae: report of an unusual cause of neonatal sepsis and a literature review

Balaji Veeraraghavan,Binu Govind,Niranjan Thomas,Shalini Anandan

doi:10.3855/jidc.2243

Balaji Veeraraghavan, Binu Govind + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.2243

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Abstract

Haemphilus parainfluenzae, an unusual cause of early-onset neonatal sepsis, is rarely reported. Risk factors for this serious infection include prolonged rupture of membranes, choriamnionitis, and prematurity. A high index of suspicion, proper culture techniques, and rapid species identification are needed to diagnose H. parainfluenzae sepsis. We present the first documented case from India with a review of the literature.

Highlights

Haemophilus species are considered to be normal flora in the upper respiratory and urogenital tracts [1,2]
We report the first case of H. parainfluenzae early-onset neonatal sepsis from India in a very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm baby
Hemophilus parainfluenzae causes a variety of systemic infections in adults, including endocarditis, meningitis, arthritis, urinary tract infections (UTI), and genital infections

Summary

Introduction

Haemophilus species are considered to be normal flora in the upper respiratory and urogenital tracts [1,2]. Maternal-fetal vertical transmission has been documented, there are very few reports of earlyonset-neonatal sepsis due to H. parainfluenzae [3,4,5,6,7,8]. We report the first case of H. parainfluenzae early-onset neonatal sepsis from India in a very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm baby. Year-old gravida 2, abortion 1 mother was transferred to our hospital at three hours of age with severe respiratory distress. The baby was referred to our hospital when it appeared to be suffering from respiratory distress from birth. On admission to the hospital the baby was in severe distress and was intubated in the emergency room and transferred to the neonatal intensive care.

Term 3400 8

Findings

Discussion