{"title":"Epidemiology, microbiology and antibiotic treatment of bacterial and fungal meningitis among very preterm infants in China: a cross-sectional study","authors":"Ping Cheng, Aimin Qian, Hongbo Zhang, Yingying Wang, Shujuan Li, Mengya Sun, Jie Yang, Jianguo Zhou, Liyuan Hu, Xiaoping Lei, Yu Hu, Ligang Zhou, Lizhong Du, Yun Cao, Shoo K Lee, Wenhao Zhou, Wenqing Kang, Changlian Zhu, Huiqing Sun, Siyuan Jiang","doi":"10.1136/archdischild-2024-327495","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Objective Neonatal meningitis significantly contributes to neonatal morbidity and mortality, yet large-scale epidemiological data in developing countries, particularly among very preterm infants (VPIs), remain sparse. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of meningitis among VPIs in China. Design Cross-sectional study using the Chinese Neonatal Network database from 2019 to 2021. Setting 79 tertiary neonatal intensive care units in China. Patients Infants with gestational age <32 weeks or birth weight <1500 g. Main outcome measures Incidence, pathogen distribution, antimicrobial use and outcomes of bacterial and fungal meningitis. Results Of 31 915 VPIs admitted, 122 (0.38%) infants were diagnosed with culture-confirmed meningitis, with 14 (11.5%) being early-onset (≤6 days of age) and 108 (88.5%) being late-onset (>6 days of age). The overall in-hospital mortality was 18.0% (22/122). A total of 127 pathogens were identified, among which 63.8% (81/127) were Gram-negative bacteria, 24.4% (31/127) were Gram-positive bacteria and 11.8% (15/127) were fungi. In terms of empirical therapy (on the day of the first lumbar puncture), the most commonly used antibiotic was meropenem (54.9%, 67/122). For definitive therapy (on the sixth day following the first lumbar puncture, 86 cases with available antibiotic data), meropenem (60.3%, 35/58) and vancomycin (57.1%, 16/28) were the most used antibiotics for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial meningitis, respectively. 44% of infants with Gram-positive bacterial meningitis and 52% with Gram-negative bacterial meningitis received antibiotics for more than 3 weeks. Conclusion 0.38% of VPIs in Chinese neonatal intensive care units were diagnosed with meningitis, experiencing significant mortality and inappropriate antibiotic therapy. Gram-negative bacteria were the predominant pathogens, with fungi emerging as a significant cause. Data are available upon reasonable request. After the publication of the article, the corresponding author may offer de-identified data, but this requires the provision of scientific rationale and sound methods. Requests for data sharing will be processed according to the Chinese Neonatal Network’s data-sharing policy.","PeriodicalId":8177,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2024-327495","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PEDIATRICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective Neonatal meningitis significantly contributes to neonatal morbidity and mortality, yet large-scale epidemiological data in developing countries, particularly among very preterm infants (VPIs), remain sparse. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of meningitis among VPIs in China. Design Cross-sectional study using the Chinese Neonatal Network database from 2019 to 2021. Setting 79 tertiary neonatal intensive care units in China. Patients Infants with gestational age <32 weeks or birth weight <1500 g. Main outcome measures Incidence, pathogen distribution, antimicrobial use and outcomes of bacterial and fungal meningitis. Results Of 31 915 VPIs admitted, 122 (0.38%) infants were diagnosed with culture-confirmed meningitis, with 14 (11.5%) being early-onset (≤6 days of age) and 108 (88.5%) being late-onset (>6 days of age). The overall in-hospital mortality was 18.0% (22/122). A total of 127 pathogens were identified, among which 63.8% (81/127) were Gram-negative bacteria, 24.4% (31/127) were Gram-positive bacteria and 11.8% (15/127) were fungi. In terms of empirical therapy (on the day of the first lumbar puncture), the most commonly used antibiotic was meropenem (54.9%, 67/122). For definitive therapy (on the sixth day following the first lumbar puncture, 86 cases with available antibiotic data), meropenem (60.3%, 35/58) and vancomycin (57.1%, 16/28) were the most used antibiotics for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial meningitis, respectively. 44% of infants with Gram-positive bacterial meningitis and 52% with Gram-negative bacterial meningitis received antibiotics for more than 3 weeks. Conclusion 0.38% of VPIs in Chinese neonatal intensive care units were diagnosed with meningitis, experiencing significant mortality and inappropriate antibiotic therapy. Gram-negative bacteria were the predominant pathogens, with fungi emerging as a significant cause. Data are available upon reasonable request. After the publication of the article, the corresponding author may offer de-identified data, but this requires the provision of scientific rationale and sound methods. Requests for data sharing will be processed according to the Chinese Neonatal Network’s data-sharing policy.
期刊介绍:
Archives of Disease in Childhood is an international peer review journal that aims to keep paediatricians and others up to date with advances in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases as well as advocacy issues such as child protection. It focuses on all aspects of child health and disease from the perinatal period (in the Fetal and Neonatal edition) through to adolescence. ADC includes original research reports, commentaries, reviews of clinical and policy issues, and evidence reports. Areas covered include: community child health, public health, epidemiology, acute paediatrics, advocacy, and ethics.