Neonatal sepsis ( neonatal sepsis ) is a disease characterized by bacteremia, that is, microorganisms from the focus of infection fall directly into the bloodstream. Infection of a newborn baby can occur during different periods of pregnancy or after childbirth. Premature babies are most susceptible to this disease. Sepsis in newborns is a rather often registered disease for many years, this pathology is characterized by a high percentage of deaths (from 15 to 50%). It should be noted that the disease can occur due to the action of both pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic (staphylococcus, pneumococcus, streptococcus, E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , etc.) microorganisms on the human body.
Sepsis of the newborn: etiology
How does the baby get infected? Contributing factors are a long anhydrous period, injured skin of a newborn baby, as well as the presence of purulent and inflammatory processes in the mother's body. Through the umbilical wound and blood vessels, as well as through the mucous membranes of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, bacteria and viruses very easily penetrate the body. If sepsis in children develops during fetal development, then the gate of infection is in the mother's body (most often in the placenta).
Sepsis of the newborn: forms of the disease
Given the pathogenesis of this disease manifests itself in the form of early, late and nosocomial sepsis. Early observed in the first days of life, most often infection occurs in the womb. Pathogenic organisms enter the embryo through the placenta. Also, infection of the child can occur during the passage of the child's birth canal. Late sepsis is detected in the first 2-3 weeks of the postembryonic developmental period of the child. The cause of the disease in this case is the microflora of the vagina of the mother. Nosocomial sepsis of newborns is caused by pathogenic microflora, which is present in maternity hospitals and medical institutions. Most often it is caused by staphylococci, mushrooms and gram-negative sticks. Infection can be transmitted through the birth canal of the mother, the hands of medical staff, equipment, instruments and care items. The immune system of the newborn is very weak and can not withstand the pathogenic effect of these microorganisms.
Signs of ailment
The child refuses to breast, has a reduced appetite, often spits up. With sepsis, body temperature rises (hyperthermia), cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle is observed , the umbilical wound does not heal well. During this period, it is advisable for the child to give mixtures that contain lactic acid bacteria. Sepsis manifests itself as septicemia or septicopyemia. In the first case, intoxication of the body occurs without pronounced foci of infection, in the second, pronounced foci of inflammation (for example, phlegmon, abscess, meningitis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis). Children with this pathology are immediately hospitalized and prescribed antibacterial drugs with a wide spectrum of action (Ampioks, Ampicilin, Linkomycin, Gentamicin, Tobramycin, Zeporin). Before prescribing antibiotic therapy, it is necessary to determine the sensitivity of microorganisms to these agents. Antibiotics can be administered either intramuscularly or intravenously. To restore water-electrolyte metabolism in the body, glucose-salt solutions with amino acids are prescribed that can be administered enterally and parenterally. In order to restore immunity, immunomodulating drugs are prescribed: Timosin, T-activin, Prodigiosan, Pentoxyl, Dibazole.