Epidemiology and Drug Resistance of Neonatal Bloodstream Infection Pathogens in East China Children’s Medical Center From 2016 to 2020

INTRODUCTION: To analyze the pathogen distribution and drug resistance of newborns with bloodstream infection (BSI) to help clinicians choose the appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy for clinical infection control. METHODS: A total of 707 neonatal BSI cases were retrospectively analyzed. The bacteria in blood culture-positive samples were cultured, identified, and analyzed for drug sensitivity by routine methods. Statistical software was used to compare and analyze the basic data, pathogenic information, and drug resistance of the main bacteria. RESULTS: The 5-year average positive rate of neonatal blood culture was 2.50%. The number of specimens submitted for inspection in 2020 significantly decreased. The top five infectious pathogens with the highest proportion were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (67.35%), of which Staphylococcus epidermidis had the highest proportion (31.26%), followed by Escherichia coli (12.87%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.05%), Streptococcus agalactiae (8.63%), and Staphylococcus aureus (3.25%). Gram-positive (G(+)) bacteria were dominant, accounting for 69.45%. The main G(+) bacteria had a higher rate of resistance to erythromycin and penicillin G. The main Gram-negative (G(–)) bacteria had a high resistance rate to a variety of antibacterial drugs, especially cephalosporin antibiotics. The overall resistance of K. pneumoniae was higher than that of E. coli. The top two fungi detected were Candida parapsilosis and Candida albicans. C. parapsilosis did not appear to be resistant to antibiotics, while C. albicans was resistant to multiple antibiotics. The type of microbial infection had a statistically significant difference in the positive rate among the age at delivery and wards (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the detection of fungi among these groups (p < 0.05). The positive rate of G(+) bacteria in the term newborns was significantly higher than that in the preterm newborns (p < 0.05). Preterm newborns are more susceptible to pneumonia. CONCLUSION: G(+) bacteria are the main pathogens of neonatal BSI. Preterm newborns are more likely to be infected with G(–) bacteria. E. coli and K. pneumoniae are the most common G(–) bacteria, and both have a high resistance rate to a variety of antibacterial drugs. According to the distribution characteristics and drug resistance, it is very important to select antibiotics reasonably.