Neonatal sepsis Flashcards
Septicaemia clinical features
High morbidity and mortality
Can be rapid and fulminant
Non-specific: irritability, persistent tachycardia, tachypnoea, grunting, frequent apnoeas/bradycardias/desaturations. poor response to handling, acute onset of pallor, temperature instability, feeding intolerance
May be specific signs related to infection site: tense fontanelle, seizures - meningitis; resp distress - pneumonia
Septicaemia management
Septic screen - blood, urine, CSF cultures
Low threshold for empirical treatment with antibiotics
Group B strep infection
May present early - first week - or late - after the first week
Early presentation = worse outcome
Reduced by prevention - antenatal tx of mum, monitoring and early tx of at risk babies
Septic screen
Rapid antigen testing on blood and CSF
Penicillin and aminoglycoside (eg gent)
Other causes, covered elsewhere
Meningitis
Pneumonia
UTI
