Traditional empiric antibiotic treatment is still effective for neonatal fever.

Abstract

Fever may be the only sign of a serious bacterial infection (SBI) in neonates. Ampicillin plus cefotaxime (A+C) and ampicillin plus gentamicin (A+G) are commonly used as empiric therapies for Escherichia coli, Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Listeria monocytogenes, which are the most likely neonatal SBI pathogens (1). Culture-based screening and prophylaxis has significantly lowered GBS infections and an alarming increase in the antimicrobial resistance rates of Gram-negative bacteria, including cefotaxime and gentamicin resistance, has been reported (1-3). We examined whether the current empiric treatment for neonatal SBI, namely A+G and A+C was still appropriate and identified easily recognisable risk factors for antimicrobial resistance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.