Bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility patterns in neonatal septicemia in view of emerging drug resistance

The objective of this study was to isolate pathogenic bacteria in neonatal septicaemia cases, and to know their antibiograms. Under aseptic precautions, blood was drawn from 140 neonates with suspected septicaemia and inoculated in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. Isolates obtained were identified as per standard protocol and antibiotic susceptibility was done by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method (as per CLSI guidelines). A total number of 62 (44.2%) patients had positive blood cultures. The most common pathogens isolated were Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=22, 35%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (n=15, 24.1%), Escherichia coli (n=14, 22.5%), CONS (n=7, 11.2%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=4, 6.4%). The Gram negative organisms showed high resistance to commonly used antibiotics and were highly sensitive to Meropenem. The Gram positive bacteria showed high resistance to Ampicillin, Erythromycin and Amoxycillin; but they were highly susceptible to Linizolid and Vancomycin. As the Gram negative organisms were the most common isolates in neonatal septicemia, their resistance pattern should be considered essential for deciding the empirical treatment. Prompt treatment of neonatal sepsis with judicious use of appropriate antibiotics can minimize the morbidity and mortality, besides reducing the emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms in intensive care units (ICUs).