Abstract

Sepsis neonatorum, or neonatal sepsis, is a clinical illness brought on by the pathophysiologic consequences of a systemic or localized infection. It includes systemic illnesses such as meningitis, pneumonia, arthritis, osteomyelitis, and urinary tract infections and affects babies under one month of age . Neonates are immune-compromised and resist weakly to bacterial infections. Aim and Objectives: To study bacteriological profile of neonatal sepsis and to study the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of different bacterial pathogens isolated. Materials and Methods: A total of 180 neonates with suspected sepsis were included in the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. 2-3 mL of blood was collected from each patients by the nursing personnel under aseptic precautions and inoculated immediately into 20 mL of glucose citrate broth with 0.025% of sodium polyanethol sulphonate as anticoagulant (HI media, a commercial firm). The broths were sub cultured on 5% sheep blood agar and Mac-Conkey agar after overnight incubation. A negative result was followed-up by examining the broth daily and doing a final subculture at the end of the seventh day. Positive growth was identified by Gram staining and antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method as per NCCLS guidelines. Discussion and Conclusion: Neonatal septicemia is an life threatening emergency and rapid treatment with antimicrobial agent is highly essential for favorable outcome. For the effective management of the cases with neonatal septicemia, the study of microbiological profile with their antibiotic sensitivity pattern always plays a significant role. In our study, the prevalence of neonatal sepsis was found to be 33.3% and the prevalence was higher in males compared to females. Among the neonates 56.7% had early onset sepsis and 43.3% had late onset sepsis. The clinical presentation was studied in all the patients, it was found that the most common clinical symptom was respiratory distress and pneumonia was more common in early onset sepsis. Among neonates gram negative septicemia was more common compared to gram positive septicemia. Staph aureus was most common among gram positive and pseudomonas was more common among gram negative isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility showed that the gram positive organisms were highly sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin and also sensitive to amoxycillin and clindamycin and were least sensitive to penicillin and ampicillin. Antibiotic susceptibility showed that the gram negative organisms were highly sensitive to colistin, tigecycline, meropenem and imipenem, and sensitive to ampicillin and gentamycin. An antibiotic policy should be formulated in our hospital and depending upon antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolated pathogen, antibiotic should be used

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