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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
Assessment of Intestinal Transcytosis of Neonatal Escherichia coli Bacteremia Isolates
Published on: February 17, 2023
Hospital-acquired infection surveillance in a neonatal intensive care unit
Giovanni Battista Orsi1, Gabriella d'Ettorre, Alessandra Panero
1Department of Public Health Sciences, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. giovanni.orsi@uniroma1.it
Background:
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
Methods:
All neonates admitted for > 48 hours between January 2003 and December 2006 in the NICU of the teaching hospital Umberto I of Rome, Italy were considered.
Results:
Of the 575 neonates evaluated, 76 (13.2%) developed a total of 100 HAIs, including 36 bloodstream infections (BSIs), 33 pneumonias, 19 urinary tract infections, 8 conjunctivitis, and 4 onphalitis. There were 7.8 HAIs/1000 patient-days and 12.5 BSIs/1000 days of umbilical catheterization. Logistic analysis identified an association with mechanical ventilation (odds ratio [OR] = 3.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.75 to 5.31; P < .01) and birth weight
Conclusions:
Although we found a low infection and mortality rate, attention should be directed toward antibiotic-resistant gram-negative pathogens.
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