Colonization of intestinal bacteria in ill neonates

Most previous studies have shown that the digestive tract of the neonate is rapidly and heavily colonized in the first few days of life, but all the studies so far used either feces or rectal swabs to isolate and identify bacterial colonization. The exact timing of intestinal colonization is not yet certain. From a retrospective analysis of 24 neonates with intestinal perforation and a prospective study of 30 ill neonates aged less than 10 days who recieved intestinal-tract operations, we found that the incidence of bacterial growth from small-and large-bowel specimens was significantly lower within 48 h after birth and the intestinal tract was almost completely sterile within 24 h after delivery. Most of the bacteria were aerobic gram-negative bacilli, and the most common species was Escherichia coli. Although our results may not represent conditions in the normal neonate, knowledge of bowel colonization in such patients will be helpful for further management.