Early-onset neonatal sepsis: Organism patterns between 2009 and 2014.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate trends in organisms causing early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS). Congruent with recent reports, we hypothesized there would be an increase in EONS caused by Escherichia coli.

STUDY

DESIGN

National data on infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units from 2009 to 2014 were compared to previously reported data from 2003 to 2008. We report 430 cases of EONS from 2009 to 2014. Bivariate analyses were used to analyze the distribution of causative organisms over time and differences by gestational age. Linear regression was used to estimate trends in causative organisms.

RESULTS

Since 2003, there has been a trend of increasing numbers of cases caused by E coli (P<0.01). The predominant organism was E coli in preterm infants and Group B Streptococcus in term infants.

CONCLUSIONS

With the majority of EONS cases now caused by E coli, our findings emphasize the importance of continued surveillance of causative organism patterns and developing approaches to reduce cases caused by E coli.