Korean Journal of Perinatology  2012;23(2):69-75

Effect of Initial Empirical Antibiotics Duration on Neonatal Outcomes in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Nury BAG 1 ; Myo Jing KIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Antibiotics; Infant; very low birth weight; Outcomes

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

PURPOSE: Little is known about the duration of antibiotics for suspected early-onset sepsis (EOS) with negative blood cultures. The purpose of this study is to identify associations between the duration of empirical antibiotics and neonatal outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of very low birth weight infants (VLBW) who admitted to NICU in 2007-2010. We defined empirical antibiotic therapy group as those who started antibiotic therapy in first 3 postnatal days. We compared the neonatal outcomes between short empirical antibiotic therapy (<5 days) and long empirical antibiotic therapy (> or =5 days). RESULTS: Of 122 VLBW, 72 infants were long empirical antibiotic therapy group. In the long empirical antibiotic therapy group, there were lower birth weight, higher rate of out-born, higher rate of vaginal delivery, and had lower Apgar scores. Prolonged antibiotic therapy was associated with delayed start of enteral feeding and incidence of ESBL. CONCLUSION: Prolonged antibiotic therapy may be associated with some adverse neonatal outcomes. Therefore, wide spread agreement regarding the short empirical antibiotic therapy was needed.