Late-onset neonatal sepsis in Arab states in the Gulf region: two-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the incidence of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Arab states in the Gulf region and to describe the main causative organisms and their antibiotic resistance. METHODS: This observational prospective cohort study was conducted over a 2-year period in five NICUs in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. LOS was defined as the growth of a single potentially pathogenic organism from blood or cerebrospinal fluid in infants >3days of age with clinical and laboratory findings consistent with infection. RESULTS: Seven hundred and eighty-five cases of LOS occurred among 67 474 live births. The overall incidence of LOS was 11.63 (95% confidence interval (CI) 10.84-12.47) per 1000 live births, or 56.14 (95% CI 52.38-60.08) per 1000 admissions. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and Klebsiella spp were the most common organisms, causing 272 (34.65%) and 179 (22.80%) of LOS cases, respectively. No evidence of a seasonal variation in the incidence of Klebsiella spp or in the incidence of all Gram-negative organisms was found. More than half of the Klebsiella spp were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins. CONCLUSION: LOS poses a major burden in this area, which could be due to the increasing care of premature babies. Gram-negative organisms, particularly Klebsiella spp, are having an increasing role in LOS in this region, with high levels of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins. NICUs in the area should create a platform through which to share experience in reducing neonatal sepsis and contribute to a common antibiotic stewardship program.

Culture-proven early-onset neonatal sepsis in Arab states in the Gulf region: two-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and the pattern of causative organisms of culture-proven early-onset sepsis (EOS) in Arab states in the Gulf region. METHODS: Five neonatal care units participated in this 2-year prospective study in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Data were collected prospectively using a standardized data collection form. EOS was defined as the growth of a single potentially pathogenic organism from blood or cerebrospinal fluid in infants within 72h of birth, with clinical and laboratory findings consistent with infection. RESULTS: Out of 67 474 live births, 102 cases of EOS occurred. The overall incidence of EOS was 1.5 (95% confidence interval 1.2-1.8) per 1000 live-births, ranging from 2.64 per 1000 live-births in Kuwait to 0.40 per 1000 live-births in King Abdulaziz Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The most common causative organism of EOS was group B Streptococcus (GBS; 60.0%), followed by Escherichia coli (13%). The incidence of invasive GBS disease was 0.90 per 1000 live-births overall and ranged from 1.4 per 1000 live-births in Kuwait to 0.6 per 1000 live-births in Dubai Hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of EOS and the patterns of the causative organisms in the Arab states in the Gulf region are similar to those in developed countries before the era of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. Efforts should be made to improve intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis in the Arab state setting, which could avert large numbers of GBS infections.