Bloodstream infections in a neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract

Aim: To determine the pattern of bloodstream infections (BSIs) and antimi-crobial susceptibility of pathogens in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Material and Method: Positive hemoculture of neonates diagnosed with nos-ocomial sepsis from March 2011 to March 2014 in the NICU of Diyarbakir Maternity and Children’s Hospital, in the southeastern region of Anatolia, Turkey, were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 148 pathogens were isolated in 142 neonates. The most common microorganisms isolated were Klebsiella pneumoniae (40.5%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (29.7%) which was a result of a hospital outbreak. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains accounted for 20.0% of K. pneumoniae isolates and 93.2% of A. baumannii isolates. The sepsis-attributable mortality rate was higher in cases infected with MDR strains than in cases infected without MDR strains or Candida spp (24% vs. 9.7%, p=0.032). Discussion: In our unit, BSIs were more often caused by Gram negative bacteria. BSIs caused by MDR strains were associated with a higher rate of sepsis-attributable mortality.