Prevention and treatment of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae infection in neonates / 中国小儿急救医学

ABSTRACT

Carbapenem-resistance is an emerging problem in Chinese neonatal intensive care units.Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae(CRE)can hydrolyze almost all β-lactam antibiotics including carbapenems by producing carbapenemase.There are three groups of carbapenemases, namely Amber A, B and D groups, which have different hydrolytic activities to specific β-lactam antibiotics.Currently, Chinese NICUs have been facing high colonization and infection rates of CRE, with high fatality rate and rapid transmission.The treatment of neonatal CRE infections is extremely difficult.The limited choice of antibiotics, the lack of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data and the uncertainty of the optimal dose and interval bring great challenges to the effective therapy of neonatal CRE infections.The main antimicrobial agents for CRE in adults and children include carbapenems, ceftazidime/averbactam, fosfomycin, polymyxin, aztreonam, etc., but there are few studies in neonates.Once infants are colonized or infected by CRE, decolonization and treatment are very difficult.Therefore, strict implementation of infection control and neonatal antimicrobial stewardship programs to reduce CRE production, transmission and infection, are the most important measures to cope with the prevalence of CRE.