title: Comparison of antimicrobial resistance in neonatal and adult intensive care units in a tertiary teaching hospital.
abstract: Intrahospital variations in antimicrobial profiles may be related to many factors. This study compared causative agents of nosocomial bloodstream infections between a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that adopted a ward-tailored antibiotic policy and adult intensive care units (ICUs). Data on organisms from blood cultures obtained from the respective wards between 2005 and 2009 were analyzed. Compared with the adult ICUs, the NICU had a higher frequency of Enterobacteriacae and lower frequencies of typical hospital-acquired pathogens (eg, Klebsiella pneumoniae, 17.4% vs 10.0% [P < .001]; Acinetobacter baumannii, 3.9% vs 11.6% [P < .001]). Antibiotic resistance of gram-negative organisms was also significantly lower in the NICU, including resistance to imipenem (5.7% vs 32.1%; P < .001), amikacin (8.8% vs 30.3%), and ceftriaxone (36.1% vs 74.6%; P < .001). This could possibly be due to the ward-tailored antibiotic policy adopted by the NICU but not by the other ICUs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Noorzaitun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ariffin
authors.forename: Habsah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: Noraida
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ramli
authors.forename: Nor Rosidah
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Fahisham
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taib
authors.forename: Azriani Ab
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Zeehaida
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Suhaimi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wahab
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Isaacs
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Rostenberghe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents