title: [Early-onset neonatal bacterial infections: a retrospective series of 144 cases].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Early-onset neonatal bacterial infections continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the newborn. THE AIM of this study was to determine the incidene, the risk factors and bacterial epidemiology of these infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  All cases of early-onset neonatal bacterial infections were identified for the years 2001-2003 using data from obstetric and neonatal reports at the neonatal unit of Charles Nicolle Hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  144 cases were identified over 11,201 live births, that is an incidence of 12.85 per thousand, of which 22 cases of sepsis infections. 22.9% of all newborns were premature and 18% had a low birth weight. Membrane rupture occurred more than 12 hours before delivery in 63.2% of cases and an intra-partum fever in 57.7% of cases. Half of newborns were symptomatic with a mean age of 7.5 hours at onset of symptomatology. The principal etiologic agents were Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Escherichia coli (E.coli), responsible respectively of 50% and 29.1% of proved infections. GBS had been recognised as the most prevalent agent in term newborn (58.9%) and the E.coli in premature newborn (38.5%). The neonatal mortality before discharge was 2.77% of all cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neonatal bacterial infections continue to be a major cause of morbidity in the newborn. The most common etiologic agents remain GBS and E. coli.
authors.affiliation: Service de néonatologie, Hôpital Charles Nicolle, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Emira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ben Hamida Nouaili
authors.forename: Makrem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harouni
authors.forename: Sihem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chaouachi
authors.forename: Rachida
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sfar
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Marrakchi
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology