Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Escherichia coli Isolated from Early-Onset Sepsis in Shiraz, Iran

Article Type Original Research Authors Aliakbar Rezaei , PhD 1 Fatemeh Javanmardi, MSc1 Neda Pirbonyeh, MSc2 Hamid Reza Parsa, MD3 Zahra Eskandari kootahi, MSc3 Amir Emami PhD2* How to cite this article Rezaei AA., Javanmardi F., Pirbonyeh N., Parsa HR., Eskandari kootahi Z., Emami A. Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Escherichia coli Isolated from Early-Onset Sepsis in Shiraz, Iran. 2021;7(4): 305-310 1 Vice-Chancellor for Treatment, health system research department, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. 2Microbiology Department, Burn & Wound Healing Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; 3Faculty Department of child and infant health, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran. * Correspondence Address: Microbiology Department, Burn & Wound Healing Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. emami.microbia@gmail.com Article History Received: June 25 2021 Accepted: September 25 ,2021 Published: November 05 ,2021 Background: Neonatal sepsis is a clinical syndrome in neonates, which is an uncommon but significant cause of morbidity and mortality in infants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of sepsis caused by Escherichia coli and its antibiotic resistance pattern as well as to assess the potential risk factors in neonates and maternal characteristics in Shiraz. Material & Method: This retrospective study was performed on infants with sepsis in the first three days of life during February 2019 to March 2021. Patients’ information was obtained using their hospital records and a questionnaire. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software Ver. 18.0. A p-value <.05 was considered as statistically significant Findings: During this study, a total of 250 positive blood cultures were reported for infants less than 3 days old. Of these, 21(8.4%) E. coli strains were isolated from 14 preterm and 7 term neonates. In all patients, the most effective antibiotic was meropenem, and the highest resistance was observed to cefoxitin. Conclusion: Base on the present study results, E. coli is the most prevalent Gram-negative bacterium isolated in Shiraz. Premature birth and very low weight are the most important risk factors for developing early-onset sepsis. Copyright© 2021, TMU Press. This open-access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License which permits Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) under the Attribution-NonCommercial terms. 10.52547/iem.7.4.305