Bareerah Haidry.
Bacteria causing early onset sepsis in neonates, neonatal intensive care unit at tertiary care hospital SKBZ/CMH Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir.
J Dow Uni Health Sci Jun ;17(3):64-70.

Objective: To determine the burden of early onset of sepsis (EOS) in suspected neonates and to assess the most common causative agents of EOS in these neonates. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital/Combined Military Hospital, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan from January 2020 to June 2021. All neonates admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) during first 3 days of life with suspicion of sepsis, based on maternal history or neonatal clinical examination were enrolled. EOS was defined based on the presence of clinical sepsis developed within 72 hours of life or if positive blood/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures were detected . This information along with the bacteria causing EOS was noted. Results: Of 109 suspected neonates for EOS, positive blood culture for EOS was observed in 26 (23.9%) neonates. Risk of EOS was 7 times higher among neonates with total leucocyte count (TLC) ≥30,000 per mm as compared to neonates with < 30,000 per mm of TLC (aOR 7.19, 95% CI 2.12 to 24.31, p-value 0.002). Gram positive was the most common bacterial isolates, i.e., 15 (57.69%) whereas gram negative was observed in 11 (42.31%) neonates. Of 15 neonates with gram positive bacteria, all had staphylococcus aureus, i.e., 15 (100%) whereas of 11 neonates with gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli was observed in majority of the neonates, i.e., 7 (63.64%). Conclusion: In our study cohort, a significant occurrence of EOS we observed. Specifically, gram-positive organism (staphylococcus aureus) was the predominant cause of sepsis.

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