Background: Bacterial sepsis is one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity in neonates. The spectrum of bacteria that cause neonatal sepsis varies, and antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem of these bacteria.
Objective: To determine the bacteriological profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of neonatal sepsis in the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU), so that the empirical antibiotics can be decided to tackle the organisms in the NICU.
Materials and Methods: A prospective study was carried out in the NICU of Pediatric Department of Guru Gobind Singh Government Hospital, Jamnagar, India. During the study duration of one-and-a-half year, 713 neonates with suspected sepsis were investigated. Data such as name, age, sex, birth weight, and gestational age were recorded. Neonates were evaluated for bacterial etiologic agents by blood culture, and their antimicrobial sensitivity was evaluated.
Result: The blood culture was positive in 368 (51%) neonates, of which 145 (39%) were gram positive and 223 (61%) gram negative. The common isolates were Klebisella, Staphylococcus aureus, and coagulase-negative Staphylococci. The sensitivity of gram-negative organisms was low to the commonly used antibiotics such as amikacin (15.70%), gentamicin (13.90%), and ampicillin + sulbactam (8.97%). The sensitivity of gram-positive organisms was better to the commonly used drugs such as ampicillin + sulbactam (71.03%), gentamicin (63.45%), and cotrimoxazole (55.86%).
Conclusion: Gram-negative organisms comprised the majority of the neonatal infections, with Klebsiella being the most prevalent. Resistance to both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms among the first-line antibiotics is a major concern. Continuing surveillance of infections is still needed in order to choose the most appropriate empirical therapy for neonatal sepsis.
Key words: Neonatal sepsis, antimicrobial resistance, microorganism
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