The gastrointestinal tract serves as the reservoir for Gram-negative pathogens in very low birth weight infants.
We report a pilot study testing the hypothesis that Gram-negative bacilli colonizing the gastrointestinal tracts of infants with birth weights <1500 g are the source of subsequent bloodstream infections. Ninety-five percent (18 of 19) of paired bloodstream infection or antecedent rectal cultures were genotypically concordant. The gastrointestinal tract is the reservoir for most cases of Gram-negative sepsis in this population.
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. pg143@columbia.edu
Philip L
PL
Graham
Phyllis
P
Della-Latta
Fann
F
Wu
Juyan
J
Zhou
Lisa
L
Saiman
D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal