Neonatal Sepsis and Antibacterial Profile in Neonates at a Selected Children's Hospital in Zambia

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a common condition among neonates particularly in developing countries. Treatment of neonatal sepsis iswith antibiotics, which have huge benefits when indications are clear. However, widespread utilisation of antibiotics over the years has been reported to favour the emergence of antibiotic resistance. In this study, we aimed at investigating neonatal sepsis and antibacterial profile at a selectedchildren?s hospital in Zambia. Method: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study from January, 2018 to December, 2019. Data was collected from files of all admitted neonates and the microbiology blood culture register. Results: Out of the 172 blood cultures analysed, 61.0% (105/172) were male admissions affected with neonatal sepsis. The median age at admission was 4 (2- 12) days old and 69.8% (120/172) were positive blood cultures. Commonly isolated bacteria causing neonatal sepsis were Enterobacter (29.2%), E. coli (19.2%) and Staphylococcus (13.3%). Resistance of isolated bacteria towards Penicillins ranged from 80% to 100% and to third generation cephalosporins from 50% to 70% and these were the most commonly resistant antibiotics. Conclusion: Early detection of bacteria causing sepsis and sensitive antibiotics via blood culture and drug sensitivity testing would probably reduce the rate of antibiotic resistance.