A Hospital Based Prospective Study to Evaluate the Antibiotic Susceptibility of the Isolates of Neonatal Sepsis in Tertiary Care Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: Septicemia is one of the most commonly encountered problems in neonatal nurseries and contributes considerably to the neonatal mortality and morbidity. Since indiscriminate unnecessary and excessive use of antibiotics not only replace the normal flora but also results in even emergence of multidrug resistant organisms. This method allows for microbial identification and susceptibility testing to be performed which is a critical component to managing sepsis, Periodic evaluation of organisms responsible for neonatal sepsis is essential for the appropriate management of neonates. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the antibiotic susceptibility from blood cultures of neonates in a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad, India. Materials& Methods: A hospital based prospective study done at Tertiary Care Neonatal unit, NICE Hospital for Women, Newborns & Children, Hyderabad during June 2017  to march 2018 (10 months).The study includes all blood culture positive cases received from neonatal intensive care unit who were admitted in NICU.All negative blood cultures and contaminant growth were excluded from the study. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done for the isolates on Muller-Hinton agar using commercially available discs (Hi-Media) by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method, using CLSI guidelines for interpretation as resistant, intermediate sensitive and sensitive. Results: During the study period, a total of 521 newborns were admitted. Blood culture reports were positive in 32 cases (6.1%). Our study showed that the spectrum of antibiotic sensitivity for gram negative isolates showed all isolates to be sensitive to Tiecycline followed by Imepenem and Piperacillin-tazobactum. The isolates were least sensitive to cephalosporins Conclusion: It is evident from this study that Gram-negative organisms (Klebsiella, pseudomonas) and S. aureus are the leading cause of neonatal sepsis and most of them are resistant to multiple antibiotics.