Summary of characteristics of neonatal sepsis and adult sepsis
| Neonatal EOS | Neonatal LOS | Adult | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Route | Maternal pathogen transmission In utero During birth | Contamination of skin-resident bacteria during clinical procedures | Surgical complications |
| Enteric pathogens translocating the intestinal lumen | Translocating pathogens from tissue infections (e.g., appendicitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections) | ||
| Common causative pathogens | GBS | Skin-resident bacteria (such as S. epidermis) | Similar rates of Gram-negative versus Gram-positive bacteria |
| E. coli | Gut-resident bacteria (such as E.coli) | Gram-negative species: E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa | |
| Gram-positive species: S. aureus and S. epidermidis | |||
| Incidence | 0.26 cases per 1000 live births in 2010 (21) | 0.31 per 1000 live births (22) | 1.2% of patients develop sepsis after elective surgery (10) |
| Maternal GBS screening initiatives contribute to a decreased incidence from 1.8 cases per 1000 live births in the early 1990s (20) | 2% of patients develop sepsis following trauma-associated surgical cases (11) | ||
| Risk factors | Low birth weight | Low birth weight | 5–66% of ventilated patients develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (15) |
| Surgery necessitated by trauma among orthopedic patients | |||
| Failure to screen for maternal GBS colonization | Prolonged use of antibiotics | Prolonged need for mechanical ventilation, i.v., or catheter increases risk of infection in associated tissues | |
| Failure to administer intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis |