The current and future roles of neonatal infection surveillance programmes in combating antimicrobial resistance.

Neonatal sepsis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in premature or low birth weight babies. Hospital-acquired blood stream infections represent a significant and largely preventable cause of disease in this population. Neonatal units have been identified as a common site for the development and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, a significant issue in modern medicine. Neonatal surveillance programmes collect prospective data on infection rates and may be used to optimise therapy, benchmark practice and develop quality improvement programmes. Despite this, the number of networks is relatively few and these are largely concentrated in resource-rich nations. Furthermore, surveillance definitions may vary between programmes impairing our ability to draw comparisons between them. Better harmonisation is required between networks to ensure that they achieve their potential as a valuable tool for benchmarking of hospital-acquired infection rates between units.

[Epidemiology of infections in very low birth weight infants. Polish Neonatology Network research]. / Epidemiologia Zakazen Noworodkówz Bardzo Mala Masa Urodzeniowa.badania Polskiej Sieci Neonatologicznej.

AIM OF STUDY: 1. prospective record of infections; 2. prevention of nosocomial infections by providing current data about infections, which are significant for making therapeutic decisions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Recorded infections: early-onset sepsis (congenital), late-onset sepsis (acquired in hospital), necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), pneumonia. Infections were diagnosed and qualified on the basis of definitions of infections based on the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) criteria, developed by CDC, USA, including modifications of German Neo-KISS programme. Infection control was realised as a part of common research project of "Polish Neonatology Network", appointed by the decision of the Minister of Science and Higher Education no. 669/E-215/BWSN- 0180/2008 dated 20.05.2008 r. The study was conducted by 6 Polish neonatology units, Microbiology Chair of Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum and Institute of Theoretical and Applied Computer Science. Infants with birth weight lower than 1500 g were qualified for the study. RESULTS: Between 1.01.2009 and 31.12.2009, 910 patients were registered, i.e. 19.1% of VLBW infants born in that period. The conducted analysis showed significant differences between centres in gestational age, birth weight, hospitalisation, use of invasive procedures, antibiotics and parenteral feeding. Cumulative morbidity rate was 68.5% total. Blood infection (sepsis) was the most commonly observed type of infection: 268 cases - 43.1% of all recorded forms of infection. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 242 cases, 38.8% total. NEC constituted 12.7% studied infections (79 cases). Apart from NEC, the risk of other forms of infection differed between centres. Dominant etiologic factor of all infections were Gram-positive cocci, which constituted 565 isolated microorganisms. Among them coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were the most common (41.7%), while Staphylococcus aureus was fourth most frequent etiologic factor of infections (6.3% total). CONCLUSIONS: 1. Introduction of unified definition and criteria for diagnosing infections and the use of morbidity rates enables comparative analysis of epidemiology of infections in neonatal intensive care units. 2. Due to significant differences observed between prophylactic and therapeutic procedures in various units, it is essential to propose Polish recommendations regarding control over etiology of infections and use of invasive procedures, such as intravenous catheters and ventilation. 3. It is essential to undertake action leading to fully rational antibiotic therapy, because overuse of antibiotics leads to bacterial resistance and increases incidence of infections.

[Epidemic of nosocomial infection by rotavirus in a neonatology service]. / Epidémie d'infection nosocomiale à rotavirus au sein d'un service de néonatologie.

The goal of work is to establish a clinical descriptive analysis of the epidemic of nosocomial rotavirus occurred in the Neonatal Unit of the Hospital's Child Rabat for a winter period. We systematically collected all the patients of the service right from the first case of rotavirus nosocomial infection. Patients with a stay of less than 48 hours of hospitalization were excluded. We have established operating sheets for all positive cases, with the term, birth weight, postnatal age and weight during the sampling, clinical symptoms, treatment, and the evolution. Out of the 36 cases analyzed (where 26 preterm and 10 term neonates), 12 samples were positive for rotavirus, so one third of patients. The patients with positive samples were in 75% symptomatic cases. The clinical signs were represented in term newborns with stool weight with stagnant fluid in 2 cases and weight loss in one case and in premature infants with mucous stools with abdominal distension in 2/3 of cases, and fluid and stool dehydration in 1/3 of cases. A very low rate of breastfeeding (17%) was noted among all newborns service in this epidemic. We performed the isolation of positive patients, with a strengthening of hygiene measures. In addition, infants were started on symptomatic treatment with careful clinical monitoring. Evolution was complicated by necrotizing enterocolitis in 3 cases of preterm infants.

Emerging viral infections in neonatal intensive care unit.

Nosocomial infections are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality among neonates and mostly in infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The total number of neonates who develop nosocomial infections per admission varies from 6.2 to 30%. The role of nosocomial virus infections is generally neglected in the actual epidemiologic scenario mostly due to the lack of data in the medical literature. Based on a worldwide database of health care-associated outbreaks (http://www.outbreak-database.com) we performed an analysis of the incidence, type of pathogens and clinical features of neonatal viral outbreaks especially those reported in NICUs. We also describe, as an example of emerging virus in NICU, a Norovirus outbreak along with clinical presentation that varies from mild to moderate clinical symptoms like vomiting, gastric remainder, diarrhoea, abdominal distension or severe presentation like necrotizing enterocolitis. and measures implemented for terminating the outbreak. In conclusion, our study analyses the viral origins of nosocomial infections in NICU and underline that the role of viral agents in neonatal nosocomial infections needs to be further investigated even in diseases traditionally considered of bacterial origin like necrotizing enterocolitis.

Prevention of nosocomial infections and surveillance of emerging resistances in NICU.

Neonates hospitalized in NICU are at risk for healthcare associated infections because of their poor immune defenses, related to gestational age, colonization of mucous membranes and skin with nosocomial microorganisms, exposure to antibiotics, invasive procedures and frequent contacts with healthcare workers (HCWs). Healthcare associated infections are the major source of morbidity and mortality in NICU in the developed world. Most infections are caused by Gram-positive organisms, fulminant sepsis are often associated to Gram-negative organisms, fungal sepsis occurs frequently in ELBW infants. Hand hygiene is the most important preventive procedure, nevertheless hand hygiene compliance among HCWs remains low. Continuous educational strategies can improve hand hygiene and contribute to reducing the incidence of neonatal infections. Other important prevention strategies include early enteral feeding with human milk, minimization and safety in the use of invasive devices, limiting unnecessary empiric broadspectrum antibiotics, eventual use of lactoferrin bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, prophylactic administration of fluconazole in VLBW. Emergence of multi drug resistant organisms (MDRO) is a worrying perspective. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important healthcare-associated pathogen. Active surveillance culturing for MRSA carriers, in combination with contact precautions and decolonization in some hyperendemic settings, has been proved to reduce MRSA transmission and infection rates. Multidrug-resistant Gram-negatives are frequently reported. Overuse of antimicrobial drugs and crosstransmission via caregiver hands, contaminated equipment or inanimate objects are the major drivers of selection and dissemination. Strategies to control outbreaks of MDRO colonization/infection in the NICU may include performing hand hygiene, cohorting and isolating patients, screening healthcare workers and performing admission and periodic surveillance cultures.