Neonatal community-acquired pneumonia: Pathogens and treatment

Aim: To analyse the bacterial pathogens and drug sensitivities for neonatal community-acquired pneumonia. Methods: Seven hundred sixty sputum samples from newborns with community-acquired pneumonia were cultured to determine microbial organisms present and their drug sensitivities. Results: Of the 760 specimens, 425 grew pathogens for a 55.9% positive rate. Among the 425 positive cultures, 278 grew gram-negative organisms (65.4%), 142 grew gram-positive organisms (33.3%), while 5 grew fungus (1.3%). The most common gram-negative organisms were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Hemophilus influenzae, while the most common gram-positive organisms were Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus. To the gram-negative organisms, the most sensitive drugs were meropenem, imipenem and amikacin, while to the gram-positive ones were vancomycin, teicoplanin and quinupristin/dalfopristin. Conclusions: The most common causative bacteria were gram-negative organisms, which were highly sensitive to Meropenem, Imipenem and Amikacin, yet often treatable with more focused antibiotic coverage, which depended on the bacterium identified.