Septicaemia in an Austrian neonatal intensive care unit: a 7-year analysis

Abstract

The results of blood cultures and clinical data of 101 neonates with 110 episodes of septicaemia during a 7-y study period were reviewed. The overall incidence of culture-proven sepsis within the study period was 6.0 per 100 neonatal intensive care unit admissions and the mortality rate was 14%. Three groups of pathogens accounted for 70% of all isolates: coagulase-negative staphylococci (27%), aerobic Gram-negative rods (24%) and Enterococcus faecalis (19%). Group B streptococcus was the major pathogen of very early-onset septicaemia (within 24 h of birth), whereas late-onset infections were most commonly caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci. Birthweight <1500 g, gestational age <30 weeks of gestation and early onset of symptoms within the first week of life were associated with poor prognosis. In addition, the case fatality rate of episodes caused by Gram-negative organisms was significantly higher than that of Gram-positive bacteraemia.

Empirical treatment of neonatal sepsis: are the current guidelines adequate?

“…These data show that the aetiology of neonatal bacteraemia is diverse and varies by age, but the reported causative organisms are consistent with previous studies on pathogens causing bacteraemia in neonates 15–18. Gram-positive organisms caused the majority of neonatal bacteraemias.…”

Importance of obtaining lumbar puncture in neonates with late onset septicemia a hospital based observational study from north-west India

“…[3] Late onset septicemia (LOS) usually presents after 72 h of age. [5678910] Any newborn with bacterial sepsis is also at risk of meningitis. As such the incidence of meningitis in neonatal sepsis has varied from 0.3% to 3% in various studies, but LOS has been reported to be fairly associated with meningitis; with percentage ranging from 3% to 30%.…”

Diagnostic markers of infection in neonates

“…72 hours) onset systemic bacterial infection, however, remains a devastating complication and an important cause of morbidity and mortality in these infants. [4][5][6][7] Recent surveys suggest that very low birthweight infants who develop neonatal infection have a significantly increased risk of prolonged oxygen supplementation, 8 a longer hospital stay, 4 5 and higher mortality 5 than patients who are not infected. In both term and preterm infants, early warning signs and symptoms are often minimal, subtle, non-specific, and can easily be misinterpreted as being due to noninfective causes such as transient tachypnoea of the newborn, environmentally induced fluctuation of body temperature, apnoea of prematurity, and acute exacerbations of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.…”