Bacteriological Profile and Antibiogram of Neonatal Sepsis

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of common bacterial isolates and antimicrobial sensitivity pattern in patients with neonatal sepsis. Moreover, to assess the clinical profile of neonates with culture positivity. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at emergency department of National Institute of Child Health, Karachi from September 2017 to March 2018. All clinical suspected neonates with sepsis of either gender were consecutively enrolled. All those neonates already taking antibiotic were excluded. Positive specimens were sub-cultured on blood agar and MacConkey agar and incubated at 37°c for 24hr. Isolated colonies was gram stained and biochemically identified. Common bacterial Isolates was also noted. This information along with certain important neonatal and maternal characteristics were noted. Results: Of 151 neonates, the mean neonatal age was 11.41 ±6.76 days. There were 87 (57.6%) females and 64 (42.4%) males. Culture positivity was observed in 41 (27.15%) patients. Among 41 culture positive cases, Klebsiella Specie was found positive in majority 14 (34.1%) patients followed by staphylococcus aureus 13 (31.7%), Escherichia coli 8 (19.5%), Coagulative negative staphylococci 5 (12.2%) and group B streptococci 1 (2.4%). A significant association of culture positivity was observed with gestational age (p-value 0.002), low birth weight (p-value 0.039), low Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration (APGAR) score (p-value 0.018), urinary tract infection in mother (p-value 0.026), and chorioamnionitis (p-value 0.005). Conclusion: Culture positivity was observed in considerable number of suspected neonates. Current magnitude of common bacterial Isolates are Klebsiella Species and Staphylococcus Aureus while Meropenum and Amikacin are common antibiotics sensitivity pattern in patients with neonatal sepsis.