Risk factors associated with neonatal sepsis due to Serratia marcescens in a public hospital in Mexico: A case–control study

Abstract

This study aimed to identify factors associated with neonatal sepsis due to Serratia marcescens in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Mexico. A case–control study was conducted, matched by gestational age and birth weight. The analysis was performed using logistic regression. Seventy newborns with S. marcescens sepsis were identified; the median gestational age was 34.4 weeks, and the median birth weight was 1680 g. Microbial isolates were identified in the bloodstream in 98.6% of cases, and 88.6% of these were diagnosed after 72 h of life. Independent variables associated with infection were the presence of a central venous catheter (OR 5.17; 95% CI 1.57–17.1), mechanical ventilation (OR 3.23; 95% CI 1.18–8.87), and prior use of meropenem (OR 3.38; 95% CI 1.01–11.3). The case fatality rate of the infection was 32.9%.