Incidence, Bacterial Profiles, And Antimicrobial Resistance Of Culture-Proven Neonatal Sepsis In South China

Background: Neonatal sepsis (NS) is one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality, but little is known about pathogen incidence and distribution in China.

Methods: In this retrospective study (January 2012 to December 2016), culture-proven cases aged less than 28 days with diagnosed NS in the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, South China, were analyzed for pathogen incidence and antimicrobial resistance.

Results: A total of 620 isolates were identified from 597 NS cases. Gram-negative bacteria (n=371, 59.8%) dominated over Gram-positive bacteria (n=218, 35.2%) and fungi (n=30, 4.8%). (21.9%), (21.9%), group B (GBS, 13.2%), and (6.8%) were the four most predominant pathogens. In early-onset sepsis (EOS), GBS (30.0%) and (20.0%) were dominant, whereas in late-onset sepsis (LOS), (25.6%) and (22.4%) were dominant. (25.2%) and GBS (17.7%) were the most frequently isolated from term patients, whereas was the most frequently isolated from preterm patients (34.9%). Of the infected infants, 9.5% died from sepsis, most commonly by infection (16.2%). Among 91,215 live births (LBs) delivered in the study hospital (2012-2016), 252 infants developed sepsis infection (2.76 per 1000 LBs, 95% CI 2.4-3.1), including EOS (0.78 per 1000 LBs) and LOS (2.13 per 1000 LBs). All GBS isolates were susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics, and , including methicillin-resistant isolates, were susceptible to vancomycin. An extended-spectrum β-lactamase producer was identified in 37.3% of and 50.4% of .

Conclusion: was the most frequent pathogen in culture-proven NS in South China, primarily associated with LOS in preterm, whereas GBS was the dominant pathogen in EOS. was common in both episodes with the highest mortality.