A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY TO KNOW PATHOGENS CAUSING NEONATAL SEPTICEMIA AND ITS MICROBIAL SENSITIVITY

Objective: To know the most common organisms causing neonatal septicemia and its antimicrobial sensitivity in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Shalimar Medical College Lahore. Methodology: A prospective descriptive study was conducted in the Pediatrics Department of Shalimar Medical College Lahore for three months period from March 2019 to May 2019. The patients were divided into two groups with septicemia in early and late onset. Results: 33 infants from 248 cases with an infection frequency of 13.5% had positive blood cultures. E. coli, coagulase negative staphylococci and Klebsiella are the common bacteria causing septicemia. These isolates are more sensitive to amikacin, meropenem, chloramphenicol, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin and 3rd generation cephalosporin. The greater frequency of isolated pathogens were taken with 52.9% infection rate for early-onset sepsis and for late sepsis 84.5%. Conclusion: There is no difference in the coagulase negative staphylococcus prevalence (57.3%), Klebsiella spp, E. coli (10.4%) and septicemia (early onset sepsis and end onset). Meropenem was the most effective antibiotic for gram-negative isolates, while against Gram positive isolates vancomycin is very beneficial. Key Words: Neonate, Septicemia, early sepsis, late-onset sepsis, antimicrobial activity