Distribution of microorganisms in neonatal sepsis and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is one of the leading causes of neonatal deaths in developing countries. The organisms responsible for early onset and late onset sepsis are different. Infections with multidrug-resistant organisms are also increasing in incidence. Objective: To identify the organisms causing septicemia in neonates and to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted by analyzing the blood cultures and the sensitivity reports of 195 newborns who were admitted to the NICU between June 2011 and May 2012 with sepsis. Results: A total number of 75 patients (38.46%) had positive blood cultures. Klebsiella pneumoniae (30.66%) was the most common organism isolated. Majority of organisms isolated were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Maximum sensitivity was seen for Carbapenems in gram-negative bacilli, Vancomycin for gram-positive cocci. Conclusion: Multi-drug-resistant organisms were isolated from neonatal septicemia. Therefore, great caution is required in selection of antibiotics