[Nosocomial Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus septicemias in neonates]

Sixteen neonates developed staphylococcal septicemia (S. epidermidis in 10 cases and S. aureus in six). Two infections were due to maternofetal contamination and four to contaminated foreign material. Clinical symptoms included non-specific evidence of neonatal bacterial infection and, in S. aureus infections, suggestive skin or bone localizations. Fifteen patients recovered without sequelae and one died as a result of S. aureus septicopyemia. In view of the patterns of resistance to antimicrobial agents exhibited by S. aureus and S. epidermidis, the vancomycin-amikacin combination seems the most appropriate treatment in neonatal staphylococcal septicemias. However, the fosfomycin-cefotaxim combination can be proposed for the treatment of staphylococcal infections with osteoarticular or meningeal involvement.