Late-onset neonatal sepsis due to multiply-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci
McIntyre, P.; Tilse, M.; Lewis, B.; Tudehope, D.
Medical Journal of Australia 149(5): 272-275
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-729X PMID: 3412220 Document Number: 306918
Staphylococcus albus is becoming an increasingly important cause of true bacteraemia and many strains show multiple antibiotic resistance. This report details a cluster of 8 patients in a neonatal intensive care unit in Brisbane, Australia, during a 6-month period in 1985. There were 22 isolates considered genuine involving 9 episodes of sepsis in the 8 patients. All strains were sensitive to netilmicin, vancomycin, fusidic acid and rifampicin. All were resistant to tobramycin and were variably resistant to gentamicin, flucloxacillin and cephalothin. Patients were all of 32 weeks gestation or less and most weighed less than 1500 g at birth. Sepsis was considered as of late onset, i.e. patients greater than 7 days old. Two patients were asymptomatic. Associated predisposing factors included artificial ventilation, and the presence of long intravascular lines. Two patients had ventriculo-peritoneal shunts.K.C. Watson.