Infectious Diseases

Neonatal sepsis continues to represent one of the most critical challenges in neonatal and pediatric care despite major advances in medicine, intensive care technologies, and antimicrobial therapy. The persistent burden of morbidity and mortality associated with neonatal sepsis especially in low- and middle-income countries raises important questions regarding our current diagnostic approaches, treatment strategies, and preventive interventions. Delayed diagnosis, nonspecific clinical presentation, antimicrobial resistance, and limited access to advanced laboratory support remain significant barriers to improved neonatal outcomes. As emerging research continues to explore…

"Hello, I am interested in learning about your NICU's practices regarding antibiotic administration for late-onset sepsis. Is it standard procedure in your unit to administer antibiotics within the 'golden hour' following a sepsis call? If this is the case, what workflow strategies do you use to guarantee a lumbar puncture and urine culture are obtained before the first dose is given?"

Hello everyone We are trying to modernize our approach to fluconazole prophylaxis. I reviewed some US units data that only use for babies <26 weeks and <750g or <750g with 2-3 risk factors like NEC, prolonged antibiotics use,mechanical ventilation, steroids and central lines Our unit has <5% Invasive fungal infections so trying to see if anyone has other guidelines or publications they can recommend and are willing to share Thank you

Dear Colleague, A team of neonatal pharmacology researchers has created a survey on new antibiotics, specifically ceftazidime/avibactam and cefiderocol. Neonatal sepsis is a major contributor to infant mortality, with approximately 1.3 million cases and 230,000 deaths annually. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are increasingly recognized as causes of both early-onset (EOS) and late-onset sepsis (LOS) in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), where Gram-negative pathogens account for 39–64% of cases. Ceftazidime/avibactam, a cephalosporin/beta-lactamase inhibitor, is approved for patients 3 months and older to treat complex Gram-negative infections. Cefiderocol, effectiv…

what is your guidelines in giving Rota virus vaccine inside NICU in due time

This paper (video abstract below!) came on my radar recently, that antibiotic stewardship works in the NICU, that initiation of antibiotics is reduced, length of tx is reduced etc. A recent UK paper is a nice example of this, although most preterm infants in this paper still recieved antibiotics I think we are pretty restrictive with antibiotics (as illustrated by this paper), but I feel we could have a more systematic approach... How do you tailor antibiotics, and what tools do you use? what makes you start? what makes you stop?

Dear all, I need your feedback regarding the importance of maternal hepatitis B results to administer HBIG as soon as possible (ie if the delay 48-72 hours could diminish the effectiveness in preventing HB) We have some problems during the weekend with our laboratory. thanks in advance Daniel

Hello everyone! In Austria we are facing an Ampicillin Shortage - I suppose this will be the same in whole Europe. As iv Amoxicillin is not common available, too, the question about the best alternative arises. Any thoughts on good alternatives to pair with an amonoglycoside? Or another combination? A possible empiric therapy would be Pip/Taz, but that would be too broad already, right? Would a combination of Flucloxacillin with Gentamicin or Tobramycin be enough? thank you for your thoughts! best wishes bernhard

hi.what is the alternative ampicilin in nicu!?for early and late sepsis

Good afternoon members, I have a strange issue. I have received a 6 weeks old infant, transferred from another hospital, normal vaginal delivery to a G2 P2 mother, with no significant antenatal history(heresay), birth weight being 2.5kg, no other anthropometry available. Baby was discharged but taken to the hospital in view of poor feeding, admitted with a diagnosis of sepsis based on thrombocytopenia(48,000), high CRP but negative culture. Hewas discharged after 5 days of iv cefipime but returned to the hospital after 10 days with breathlessness. He was again investigated, found to be thrombocytopenic and anemic and was transfused with platelets and packed cells, u…