BACTERIOLOGICAL PROFILE AND RESISTANCE PATTERN IN CULTURE-POSITIVE SEPTIC NEONATES PRESENTING TO TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, PESHAWAR

Objective: To determine the bacteriological profile and sensitivity pattern from blood cultures of neonates diagnosed with neonatal sepsis. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital, i.e., Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar Neonatology Department, for 6 months from 1st July 2023 to 31st December 2023. All the neonates admitted with clinical signs and symptoms of sepsis were included in the study on confirmation of sepsis by positive blood cultures. Their resistance patterns and antibiotic sensitivity patterns were determined. The outcome of sepsis in the form of discharge or death was reported. Results: The blood culture showed that the highest frequency of organisms isolated was gram-negative Klebsiella in 38.2% of neonates, followed by E. coli in 35.4% of neonates. There is significant sensitivity of antibiotic meropenem, imipenem, ampicillin tazobactam, amikacin, and colistin to various organisms with a p-value <0.001. However, the resistance pattern was seen with antibiotics like ampicillin and cephalosporins. Conclusion: Antibiotics like amikacin, ampicillin-tazobactam, and ampicillin-sulbactam have shown promising results in treating neonatal sepsis other than carbapenems and colistin. The hypervirulent-resistant strains of bacteria need to be further analyzed beyond antibiotic susceptibility testing alone. This will facilitate the roadway to the development of neonatal vaccines. Keywords: Neonatal Sepsis, Resistance, Culture Resistance.