Retrospective cohort study of neonatal early onset of sepsis and the role of the EOS calculator in a level II nursery

Abstract

Background: Sepsis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in neonates. With the improvement in health care standards, the incidence of neonatal Early Onset Sepsis (EOS) has reduced significantly. A recent Web-based EOS-calculator has been introduced with the aim to reduce the use of IV antibiotics in neonates. The role of the EOS-calculator has yet to be ascertained in this regional Special Care Nursery (SCN) in Western Australia. This study aims at examining the local incidence of culture proven EOS and the role of the EOS calculator. Method: It is a retrospective study examining all newborns 35 weeks gestation throughout 2019 (JaneDec 2019) who received IV-antibiotics. The local incidence of culture-proven EOS was established and applied onto the EOS calculator. The recommended management by the EOS-calculator was cross-examined with the local EOS guideline. Overall proportion of reduction in IV antibiotics use was formulated. Other relevant laboratory data extracted was analysed with Pearson's correlation test with the EOS scores. Results: Total included sample was n Z 252 with an annual birth of 1880s indicating 13.4% of all neonates born throughout year 2019 was treated with IV antibiotics. The local incidence of culture-proven EOS was 0.5/1000. By applying the EOS-calculator, a significant reduction of IV antibiotics usage from 13.4% to 3.9% (z value 10.4, p < 0.0001) could be achieved in this cohort. Sixty three percent of neonates who received IV antibiotics in this cohort were classified as 'clinically well' based on the EOS-calculator. Conclusion:The EOS-calculator could reduce the use of IV antibiotics in the neonatal population significantly in this regional SCN (from 13.4% to 3.9%). Judicial use of IV antibiotics is

Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of the Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator: A Multicenter Survey Study

“…To explore potential barriers and facilitators of EOS calculator implementation and thereby identify relevant survey items, a preparatory literature search in Pubmed was combined with 12 exploratory semi-structured stakeholder interviews. Facilitators and barriers identified in literature an during the interviews were analyzed and summarized in a point-by-point list [16][17][18][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. Subsequently, all factors were allocated to one of the 39 CFIR constructs using the CFIR codebook [21,43].…”