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Abstract
Objective:
To determine the frequency of positive blood cultures in suspected neonatal sepsis and to identify the bacterial isolates and their corresponding antibiotic sensitivities.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Pediatrics of DHQ Hospital, Sargodha from May-2024 to January-2025. This study included 149 neonates, aged between 1 to 28 days, admitted with suspicion of sepsis. Blood samples were obtained and sent to hospital laboratory for determination of culture positive sepsis and to determine the microbial and antibiotic susceptibility patterns.
Results:
The outcomes of the study depict that average age of the participants was 14.2 (±8.3) days. Positive blood cultures were found in 35 (23.5%) participants. Regarding bacterial isolates, Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most prevalent, accounting for 21 (60.0%) isolates while, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified in 6 (17.1%) isolates. Moreover, ampicillin demonstrated a high susceptibility rate of 94.3%, with 33 isolates showing sensitivity. Similarly, gentamycin also exhibited substantial efficacy, with 85.7% of the cases responding favorably. Likewise, meropenem was effective in 71.4% of isolates.
Conclusion:
In the current investigation, it was observed that 23.5% of sepsis cases were confirmed through positive culture results. Typically, the initial empiric antimicrobial treatments advocated by the World Health Organization, namely ampicillin and gentamicin, showed strong effectiveness against the majority of the microorganisms identified in these cases.