A retrospective study on the outcome of sepsis among neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at a tertiary care hospital in Western India

Abstract

Background: In underdeveloped nations, sepsis is one of the main causes of newborn death. A timely detection of this can reduce the burden of neonatal mortality as well as morbidity. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis of sepsis at a tertiary care facility in Western India to identify risk factors and increase infant survival rates. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on neonates admitted between November 16, 2021, and November 15, 2022 (for 1 year duration), at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of GMERS Medical College, Gandhinagar. A dataset was created consisting of neonates with the final diagnosis of sepsis, and the outcome was analyzed based on various parameters. Results: Out of 1309 NICU admissions, 130 (9.93%) were sepsis cases. Out of 130 sepsis cases, 72 (55.38%) were male and 58 (44.62%) were female, 62 (47.69%) were inborn and 68 (52.31%) were outborn, and 26 (20%) cases were low birth weight (LBW), 18 (13.84%) were very LBW, 12 (9.23%) were extreme LBW, and 74 (56.92%) were normal birth weight neonates. Out of 130 sepsis cases, 84 (64.61%) cases were preterm, and 46 (35.39%) cases were full-term. In 105 cases, out of 130 total sepsis patients, pathogens were isolated. The most common organism was Staphylococcus (62 cases/59.04%). Conclusion: According to this study, the likelihood of developing sepsis was inversely associated with birth weight. A high percentage of neonatal sepsis cases (9.93%) were found, where 96 (73.84%) neonates were successfully discharged. This study is helpful to identify multiple risk factors such as preterm (64.61%), male gender (55.35%), and outborn (52.31%). Antibiotic susceptibility pattern reveals that more number of resistance cases will be coming, posing a serious threat of neonatal sepsis morbidity.