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Ampicillin–Aminoglycoside Combinations as Initial Treatment for Neonatal Septicaemia or Meningitis: A Retrospective Evaluation of 12 Years' Experience
Author(s) -
TESSIN I.,
TROLLFORS B.,
THIRINGER K.,
LARSSON P.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1991.tb11752.x
Subject(s) - ampicillin , medicine , aminoglycoside , meningitis , antibiotics , pediatrics , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
. In a retrospective study covering the years 1975–1986, 341 episodes of invasive infections in 338 newborn infants were evaluated. Of the 365 pathogens isolated from blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid, 91% were sensitive to either ampicillin or aminoglycosides or both. Ampicillin resistance was mainly found in very low and low birth‐weight infants with late‐onset infections, in which aerobic Gram‐negative rods were common pathogens. In contrast, aminoglycoside resistance was common in early‐onset infections, due to the dominance of group B streptococcal infections. The ampicillin‐aminoglycoside combination had been given as initial treatment in 189 cases of septicaemia or meningitis. Treatment failed in 36 infections (20%), although all organisms were sensitive to one or both antibiotics. Treatment failed in 6 of 34 patients with meningitis but the failure was not related to ampicillin or aminoglycoside resistance. In conclusion, both in vitro and clinical results show that the ampicillin–aminoglycoside combination can be used as initial treatment of invasive infections in neonates.