Bacterial isolates and its antibiotic susceptibility pattern in NICU

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology

Background:

• Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of newborn illness and death in developing countries.
• Understanding causative agents and their resistance patterns is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify common bacterial pathogens responsible for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) sepsis.
• To analyze the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of these isolates.

Main Methods:

• A one-year prospective study was conducted in a NICU.
• Blood cultures were analyzed to identify bacterial isolates.
• Antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed for commonly used antibiotics.

Main Results:

• Klebsiella was the most frequently isolated organism in early-onset, late-onset, and nosocomial sepsis.
• Gram-negative organisms (60.64%) predominated over gram-positive organisms (39.36%).
• High resistance rates were observed for Klebsiella, gram-negative, and gram-positive isolates against ampicillin, gentamycin, and cefotaxime.

Conclusions:

• Klebsiella species are a primary cause of neonatal sepsis and exhibit significant resistance to first-line antibiotics.
• Emerging resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics in both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria poses a major challenge in NICUs.