Patterns of Use of Antibiotics in Two Newborn Nurseries

Sepsis in the newborn infant may be defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by systemic signs of infection and accompanied by bacteremia in the first month of life. Despite the introduction of potent antimicrobial agents, the mortality of neonatal sepsis is 20 to 58 per cent.1 2 3 Early diagnosis of sepsis is difficult because signs are subtle and nonspecific. Criteria for therapy vary in different nurseries, but most physicians usually administer antibiotics to newborn infants at the least suspicion of sepsis because of the difficulty of clinical diagnosis and the high mortality. We undertook a prospective study to examine the pattern . . .