Abstract:
Background: Sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among babies in premature baby
units (PBU). Periodic monitoring of antimicrobial sensitivity of the causative organisms in a
particular setting is important for the early management of infections in neonates.
Objectives: To determine the proportion of blood culture positivity; to assess the factors
associated with sepsis among the babies and to assess the causative microorganisms and their
antibiotic susceptibility pattern, isolated in blood cultures of babies with suspected sepsis admitted
to PBU at District General Hospital Matara (DGHM)
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in microbiology laboratory of DGHM to review
blood culture reports received from PBU. All the consecutive samples of PBU from 31st December
2022 until 01st January 2021 were taken into study. Culture isolates, antibiotic susceptibility
patterns and other related data were collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS
version 25.0.
Results: A total of 1612 blood culture reports were included in the study. Overall blood culture
positivity was 9% (n=154). Among the positive cultures 125 (81.2%) isolates were bacteria, 3
(1.9%) were Candida spp. and the rest of the growth was considered as contaminants. Among
bacterial isolates, 65.6% were gram positive cocci and 34.4% were gram negative bacilli.
Common isolated organisms were coagulase-negative Staphylococci (51.6%), LF coliforms
(11.2%), Pseudomonas spp. (8%), Staphylococcus aureus (7.2%), Streptococcus spp. (6.4%) and
NLF coliforms (5.6%). Among gram negative organisms, 7% were Extended Spectrum Beta
Lactamase produces, 4.7% were multi drug resistant and carbapenem resistance was seen in
40.5% of organisms. Among Staphylococcus isolates, 55.6% were Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus. Prematurity (p=0.017), low birth weight (p=0.002) were significantly
associated with culture positive sepsis.
Conclusions:. Coagulase-negative Staphylococci, LF coliform, and Pseudomonas spp. were the
predominant causative organisms. Ciprofloxacin and aminoglycosides were the most effective
drugs against gram positive and negative bacteria.
