Early-onset neonatal sepsis and neonatal antibiotic exposure in Hungary a nationwide population-based study

Description

Judit Mari and seven colleagues measured early-onset sepsis and antibiotic use in Hungarian newborns. Sepsis in the first days of life is rare but dangerous, and fear of it pushes doctors toward heavy antibiotic use. The team analyzed the national perinatal registry for 2020 through 2023, covering the country's larger neonatal intensive care units. They counted proven infections, the germs behind them, and antibiotic use.

Proven early sepsis struck about four babies in every ten thousand births, far more often in babies born before thirty-five weeks. Escherichia coli caused a third of cases and group B streptococci about a quarter. A fifth of the babies with E. coli sepsis died, while no streptococcal deaths occurred. Meanwhile nearly two thirds of intensive care babies received antibiotics, usually about five days. The authors call this a first national estimate for their region and urge strategies cutting needless exposure.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/PMC13633339