Evaluation of antibiotic consumption and resistance patterns among neonates: a 10-year retrospective study

Newborns are highly susceptible to infection, which leads to a higher chance of antibiotic utilization and resistance. Thus, the current study was carried out to evaluate antibiotic consumption, susceptibility, and resistance patterns among neonates.

A retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital over 10 years to evaluate antibiotic consumption and resistance patterns among neonates. Antibiotic utilization was calculated using the defined daily dose (DDD) and days of therapy (DOT) based approach. All the data were analysed using SPSS version 29.

A total of 447 neonates were included in the study. Aminoglycosides (DDD:3089.449, DOT:2915), penicillin (DDD:3003.22, DOT:2218), and cephalosporins (DDD:1164.88, DOT:744) were the top three commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics. A total of 21 microorganisms were identified among neonates, of which Coagulase-negative staphylococci (17.88%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.01%) and Staphylococcus aureus (12.14%), were the top three prevalent microorganisms. Out of these 21 isolates, 16 were multidrug resistant (MDR), and 5 were non-MDR organisms. Aminoglycosides, penicillin, and lincomycin were the most resistant classes of antibiotics. Individually, gentamicin, followed by clindamycin, piperacillin/tazobactam, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, meropenem, and cefoperazone/sulbactam were commonly resistant antibiotics. The estimated consumption of penicillin (DDD: ρ = 0.784, DOT: ρ = 0.76) and aminoglycosides (DDD: ρ = 0.745 and DOT: ρ = 0.758) significantly correlated with resistance patterns among neonates.

Aminoglycosides and penicillin are the most commonly prescribed antibiotics with higher resistance among neonates, pointing towards the need for the implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship program in neonatal settings.