Neonatal Infections

Authors:
  • EGEdmund F. La Gamma
    Edmund F. La Gamma
  • LDLewis M. Drusin
    Lewis M. Drusin
  • AMArnold W. Mackles
    Arnold W. Mackles
  • SMSusan Machalek
    Susan Machalek
  • PAPeter A. M. Auld
    Peter A. M. Auld
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
• For a 24-month period (1977 through 1978), the determinants of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) mortality were examined retrospectively in 133 consecutively admitted newborn infants who weighed less than 1,000 g at birth. Seventy-one (53.4%) died during the first five days of life, 27 (20.3%) died after the first five days of life, and 35 (26.3%) were eventually discharged from the unit. Neonatal infection was the key determinant of increased mortality after the first five days of life. In these patients, grampositive organisms were recovered from 54% (14/26) of all body fluid cultures from 21 infected infants. Infections included Staphylococcus epidermidis (27% [7/26]), Staphylococcus aureus (15% [4/26]), and Escherichia coli (11% [3/26]). We propose that reducing the incidence of neonatal infections is necessary to substantially improve late NICU mortality in these very-low-birth-weight neonates. (Am J Dis Child 1983;137:838-841)

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: