Authors : M Nissi Priya, K Sreeja Vamsi, Manisha Singh, Vasanti Kabra, Y Raja Ratna Reddy
DOI : 10.18231/j.ijmr.2020.008
Volume : 7
Issue : 1
Year : 2020
Page No : 35-38
Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is the second leading cause of mortality with an annual toll of more than
one million deaths of the newborn. The incidence and subsequent risk factors in the clinical management
of newborn sepsis is a continuing major global public health concern. Although variety of sepsis screening
methods available, blood culture and sensitivity is considered as the most promising test for diagnosis of
neonatal septicemia because, the type of microorganisms associated and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern
vary significantly.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of blood cultures was carried out in the department
of microbiology, SVS medical college, Mahabubnagar, Telangana for the period of June 2017 to October
2019. Blood cultures (in BacT/Alert, biomerieux) were incubated and growth was identified as per the
standard protocols. Antibiotic sensitivity testing of the isolates was performed in VITEK 2-compact
(biomerieux).
Results: From a total of 210 positive samples, the incidence of Gram negative bacilli predominates (65.2%)
the Gram positive cocci (34.8%). Klebsiella species (94 out of 137) and coagulase negative Staphylococci
(61 out of 73) are the most predominant bacteria isolated from neonatal sepsis. Antibiotic sensitivity
pattern of the isolates varies significantly. However, most widely used carbapenems and cephalosporins
demonstrated only marginal efficacy towards enteric GNB.
Conclusion: Surveillance for emerging MDR pathogens is essential to monitor changing epidemiological
trends to guide optimum empirical therapy.
Keywords: Neonatal sepsis, Blood culture, Gram negative bacilli, CONS, Drug sensitivity.