ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the spectrum and antimicrobial sensitivity of bacterial pathogens causing neonatal sepsis, in neonatal intensive care unit [NICU] of Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi
Study Design: Prospective cross sectional study
Place and Duration of Study: This was a prospective cross sectional study, conducted at NICU of Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from Jul 2017 to Dec 2017
Material and Methods: All neonates admitted to our department who underwent evaluation for sepsis, from Jul 2017 to Dec 2017
Results: Out of 2,480 admitted neonates, 733 were suspected with sepsis, making an incidence of suspected neonatal sepsis to be 29.5 percent. 421 [57.4 percent] babies were suspected with early onset sepsis [EOS] and 312 [42.6 percent] with late onset sepsis [LOS]. Majority of the babies [70.3 percent] were preterm. In 281 [11.3 percent] neonates, blood culture came out to be positive. 73/281 neonates with culture proven sepsis died making a mortality rate of 25.9 percent. Gram negative bacilli were most predominant among isolated bacteria. Most of the organisms showed resistance to the first line antibiotics
Conclusion: Sepsis has a high mortality rate in neonates admitted to our department. Gram negative organisms are the most common cause. Most of the isolated organisms are resistant to empirical antibiotics