Sepsis-Related Mortality of Very Low Birth Weight Brazilian Infants : The Role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract EN

The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for sepsis-related mortality in low birth weight (<1500 g) infants.

We performed retrospective cohort study to investigate risk factors for sepsis-related mortality in all neonates birth weight <1500 g admitted to Level III neonatal intensive care unit, Brazil, April 2001/September 2004.

Of the 203 cases, 71 (35%) had sepsis.

Of those, gram-positive was identified in 52/87 blood cultures (59.8%), the most common Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (31/87; 35.5%).

Gram-negative was present in 29 of the 87 positive blood cultures (33.3%), with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8/87; 9.1%), the most frequent agent.

Overall 21 of 71 infants with sepsis (29.6%) died.

Risk factors for sepsis-related mortality were gestational age ≤28 weeks, birth weight ≤1000 g (9.6 times more often than birth weight >1000 g), five-minute Apgar ≤7, gram-negative sepsis, mechanical ventilation (6.7 times higher than no use), and intravascular catheter.

Sepsis-related mortality was due, mainly, to Pseudomonas aeruginosa; birth weight ≤1000 g and mechanical ventilation were strong sepsis-related mortality predictors.