Nosocomial outbreak of serratia marcescens in a neonatal intensive care unit at King Hussein medical center

To describe an outbreak of Serratia Marcescens infection in the neonatal intensive care unit at King Hussein Medical Center. This retrospective review was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit at King Hussein Medical Center during the period between March 1 and May 30, 2007. The medical and laboratory records of 145 neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit during the study period of the outbreak were reviewed. Blood culture, urine culture, swab cultures from the throat, ears, eyes, rectum and umbilicus were performed for the entire study group. Simple descriptive statistical methods [frequency, mean and percentage] were used to describe the study variables. Environmental cultures were taken from potential environmental sources in neonatal intensive care unit and delivery rooms. Thirty-one cases of Serratia Marcescens sepsis were identified, 19[61%] neonates were males and 12[39%] were females. the median age at presentation was six days. Neonates with Serratia Marcescens sepsis were found to have low birth weight, low gestational age, and high rate of mechanical ventilation and central venous catheterization with high overall mortality rate. Although the frequency of Serratia Marcescens in neonatal intensive care units is uncommon, it can cause rapidly spreading outbreaks associated with fatal outcomes

Ichthyosis congenita harlequin type: a case report

This is a case report of a rare and severe form of congenital ichthyosis involving skin, eyes, ears, mouth, feet and hands. Unfortunately, the patient died at the fifth day of age due to severe cardio-pulmonary compromise

Bacterial meningitis in children

Aim: To study the clinical presentation and cerebrospinal fluid profile of bacterial meningitis in children beyond the neonatal period and to evaluate the effect of the new H. influenza vaccine on the incidence of H. influenza meningitis in Jordan

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 77 children treated for bacterial meningitis at Prince Hashim-Ben-Al Hussein Hospital over a period of 5 years before and during the introduction of H. influenza type b vaccine. We have studied the age and sex prevalence, clinical presentations, laboratory findings, complications, management and mortality

Results: We found that meningitis is more common in males than females 1.26:1. The higher risk groups for bacterial meningitis are those under the age of two years [71.4%]. Bacterial organisms were isolated from cerebrospinal fluid in 35 cases [45.5%]. The mortality rate constitutes 6.2% of patients. A substantial reduction in the incidence of H. influenza meningitis was observed with the introduction of immunization of infants with conjugate vaccine

Conclusion: Bacterial meningitis is still a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in children. Despite the lack of meningeal signs, a high index of suspicion for meningitis is essential when evaluating a febrile child less than two years of age. The immunization programme for H. influenza type b in Jordan has been successfiil in reducing the incidence of this type of meningitis