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Intestinal colonization among very low birth weight infants in first week of life
Sourabh Dutta1, Meenakshi Ganesh, Pallab Ray
1Departments of Pediatrics and *Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Correspondence to: Dr Sourabh Dutta, Additional Professor, Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, PGIMER, Chandigarh 160 012, India. sourabhdutta@yahoo.co.in.
Objective:
To study intestinal colonization patterns in very low birth weight infants in the first week of life in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods:
Meconium/stool specimens were obtained on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 from 38 very low-birth-weight infants in a level III neonatal intensive care unit.
Results:
On day 1, 45% had sterile guts, and by day 3, all infants were colonized. E. coli, K. pneumoniae and Enterococcus fecalis were predominant organisms. Lactobacilli was found in one isolate and Bifidobacteria was not detected during the study period. There was an association between formula feeding and E. coli colonization.
Conclusion:
Very low birth weight infants admitted in neonatal intensive care units have abnormal intestinal colonization patterns.
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