Neonatal sepsis in a tertiary unit in South Africa

Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a global threat to healthcare resulting in an increase in morbidity and mortality. Neonatal sepsis is ranked as the third highest cause of neonatal demise globally, in which AMR accounted for 31.0% of deaths. AMR in neonates has been poorly characterised in Durban, South Africa. Thus, the resultant effect of AMR on empiric regimens for neonatal sepsis is uncertain in this setting. Therefore, this study analysed the aetiology and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bloodstream infections within the neonatal intensive care unit at a tertiary hospital in Durban, with the aim of establishing an effective empiric regimen for the unit. Methods A retrospective data review on positive blood cultures from the neonatal intensive care unit at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital was conducted. Three time periods were analysed: 2014, 2016 and 2018. Culture data from neonates aged 0–30 days were included and repeat cultures were de-duplicated. The frequency of common organisms and their antimicrobial susceptibilities were analysed. Fischer’s exact test was used for subgroup analysis. Poisson and logistic regressions were used to assess significant trends in organisms and antimicrobial susceptibilities over time. Results Late-onset sepsis (86.8%) predominated over early-onset sepsis (13.2%). A preponderance of gram-positive organisms (68.7%) over gram-negatives (26.8%) and fungi (4.5%) was detected. Common pathogens included coagulase-negative staphylococci (53.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (11.6%), enterococci (9.3%), and Acinetobacter baumannii (7.7%). Despite the small contribution of fungi to the microbial profile, fluconazole-resistant Candida parapsilosis predominated within that group. High rates of resistance to first- and second-line antibiotics were also noted among gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Multidrug resistant organisms included extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) K. pneumoniae (7.6%) and extensively-drug resistant A. baumannii (7.0%). However, a statistically significant decrease in ESBL-producing organisms was documented during the entire study period (p = 0.005). Conclusions It was determined that first-line antimicrobials, advocated by the World Health Organization for treatment of neonatal sepsis, proved ineffective in this unit due to high levels of AMR. Therefore, this study advises that meropenem with or without vancomycin provides optimal empiric cover. Amphotericin B is advocated for empiric antifungal therapy. Ongoing surveillance is necessary.

Distribution and Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Members of Enterobacterales Isolated from Blood Cultures in a University Hospital

Objective: Members of Enterobacterales can cause various diseases in humans. The objective of this study was to determine the genus/species distribution and antimicrobial susceptibilities of Enterobacterales isolated from blood cultures in Central Laboratory of Hacettepe University Hospital. Method: Enterobacterales isolated from blood between July-2014 and April-2018 were included in the study. MALDI-TOF MS was used for the identification of isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined with automated system (VITEK 2 Compact for the isolates between 2014 and 2018; BD Phoenix for the isolates in 2018) and disk diffusion method. Results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing were interpreted according to EUCAST breakpoints. Results: In total, 1765 isolates belonging to the order Enterobacterales were isolated from blood cultures. The most common microorganisms were Escherichia coli (47.6%), Klebsiella (34.1%), Enterobacter (6%), Proteus (4.4%) and Serratia spp. (3.5%), respectively. The remaining isolates included Salmonella, Citrobacter, M. morganii, Pantoea, Raoultella and Providencia spp. The lowest resistance rates among E. coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter spp. isolates were observed against meropenem and amikacin. However, 21.1% of Klebsiella isolates were resistant to meropenem. The most active antimicrobials against Proteus isolates were piperacillintazobactam and meropenem. Resistance was not observed against piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem among Proteus isolates. The most active antimicrobial against Serratia isolates was trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole with a resistance rate of 0%. Resistance was not noted against ampicillin and trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole among Salmonella isolates, whereas 26.1% of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. All Citrobacter isolates were susceptible to meropenem, amikacin and cefepime. Conclusion: Findings of our study may guide the selection of proper antimicrobials for the treatment of bacteremia caused by Enterobacterales. Furthermore, this study provides important epidemiological information regarding the distribution of members of Enterobacterales causing bacteremia.