There are a number of ailments that can pose a serious threat to a newborn baby’s life, and neonatal sepsis is one of them. Thorough knowledge of the disease can help fight the cause. Detecting the symptoms at the very onset aids in deciding the right treatment for this deadly disease. What is neonatal sepsis? Let us find out.
Neonatal sepsis is an invasive neonatal infection that can affect your baby. This bloodstream infection can cause fatal diseases like pneumonia, gastroenteritis, meningitis or pyelonephritis. Your baby’s immune system responds to the infection by attacking the baby’s own tissues and organs. Neonatal sepsis can affect a single body part or multiple parts. It is a very rare infection occurring only in 0.5 to 8.0 per 1000 births. However, the risk factors are more common in following cases such as:
Neonatal sepsis infection is usually a bacterial infection that affects the baby in the neonatal stage. Signs of this infection can be multiple and non-specific which include reduced infant activity, less intense sucking, increase in temperature, seizure, jaundice, diarrhoea, respiratory and abdominal complications along with other complications.
Neonatal sepsis can occur as early as within three days after birth or later. As per the time and source of infection, we can broadly classify neonatal sepsis into two categories:
This type of infection occurs within 72 hours after birth and it is generally caused by maternal intrapartum transmission of invasive organisms. Babies with very low birth weight are at a greater risk of catching this infection. Various lab tests determine the probable cause of this infection.
This kind of neonatal sepsis generally is seen in babies who are hospitalised for a longer duration at hospitals in intensive care units. Symptoms of this kind of infection become evident few days after the birth. This kind of infection is usually caused by the postnatal acquisition of the pathogens.
Both these infections may cause equally fatal complications in a newborn baby. Early detection of the type of sepsis aids is s correct and timely treatment of the disease.
In most cases of neonatal sepsis, the major cause is a bacterial infection. Bacterial sepsis in a newborn is caused by E.coli. The newborn baby is more susceptible to this infection is because of low immunity. Following are various causes of neonatal sepsis:
The signs and symptoms of neonatal sepsis are not only listless but also difficult to identify. This infection remains one of the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in full term and preterm babies. Therefore, it becomes very important to identify the symptoms of this deadly disease at the very onset to avoid further complications. Few symptoms are listed below:
All the above signs and symptoms do not necessarily mean that your child has neonatal sepsis. But it is recommended and advised that medical help is sought as soon as you notice any of the above-mentioned symptoms in your baby. Neonatal sepsis survival rate depends on whether the signs and symptoms are registered at an early stage or not.
The trickiest task in the diagnosis of sepsis in premature babies is getting an accurate diagnosis. It is difficult because the symptoms are not only subtle but also can be confused with other ailments. Where adult symptoms can be easily identified, diagnosing sepsis in infants can be difficult because there are multiple conditions that resemble sepsis. One single test may not show accurate results, therefore a combination of tests help diagnose the ailment. Various lab tests prove to be effective is diagnosing sepsis. These lab tests include:
As soon as your health practitioner establishes the symptoms or even suspects symptoms of neonatal sepsis in your baby, the treatment will start immediately. It is likely that you are advised to keep your baby in the hospital under the observation of experts. Antibiotics will be administered to the infant intravenously, through IV into the veins. Cardiopulmonary support and IV nutrition will be given to the infant till the illness stabilises. There will be a regular monitoring of:
Apart from the above-mentioned treatments, there are other treatments such as exchange transfusion, granulocyte transfusion, IV immune globulin infusion etc. Though there are many treatments available, no clinical trials have proved that these treatments are beneficial.
Risk factors associated with EOS or the early onset of sepsis includes complications that an infant may face in the mother’s uterus before the birth or soon after the birth. Following are the likely risk factors for EOS:
The risk factors of LOS or late-onset of sepsis include the following:
All the above circumstances can prove to be fatal for the unborn or a newborn baby. It is recommended to seek medical help as soon as any risk factors associated with neonatal sepsis are registered.
Prevention is always better than cure and if as an expectant mother, you are well aware of the possible causes and symptoms of this deadly disease, your unborn or newborn baby can easily be prevented of neonatal sepsis. Various studies and researchers have also shown that early intervention and detection of neonatal sepsis can save lives. Following are a few measures that can be taken to prevent neonatal sepsis or you may call it neonatal sepsis care plan for your baby:
Like any disease or ailment in a newborn child is a matter of great concern and if neglected can lead to complications, neonatal sepsis poses a similar kind of threat. Though neonatal sepsis is a rare bacterial infection that affects a newborn baby it is very important for a mother to know everything about this deadly ailment to protect her newborn child from it. Prevalence of neonatal sepsis is 1 to 10 per 1000 births worldwide. The available data shows 10% of maternal and 26% of neonatal deaths take place.
This article talks about neonatal sepsis, it’s causes, symptoms and effects, and how to prevent it. The neonatal sepsis mortality rate has increased over the past two decades and thorough knowledge of this deadly disease and timely medical intervention can save lives.