Antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative colonization in infants from a neonatal intensive care unit in Thailand

• Published in: The Journal of hospital infection Vol. 103; no. 2; pp. 151 - 155
• Main Authors: Roberts, T., Limmathurotsakul, D., Turner, P., Day, N.P.J., Vandepitte, W.P., Cooper, B.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2019; W.B. Saunders For The Hospital Infection Society
• Subjects: Antimicrobial resistance; beta-Lactamases - genetics; Carbapenem resistance; Carrier State - epidemiology; Carrier State - microbiology; Colonization; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase; Female; Gram-Negative Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Negative Bacteria - isolation & purification; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Neonate; Thailand - epidemiology; Thailand; Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase; Neonate; Carbapenem resistance; Antimicrobial resistance; Colonization
• ISSN: 0195-6701; 1532-2939
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2019.04.004

Antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative bacteria are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized neonates in South and South-East Asia. This study aimed to determine the dynamics of colonization with antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative bacteria amongst patients in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Thailand. From 97 enrolled patients, 52% were colonized by an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) organism at some point during their stay and 64% were colonized by a carbapenem-resistant organism. Rapid acquisition of ESBL-positive and carbapenem-resistant organisms was found. Once colonized with an antibiotic-resistant organism, patients remained colonized for the remainder of their NICU stay.