Blood culture versus antibiotic use for neonatal inpatients in 61 hospitals implementing with the NEST360 Alliance in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Thirty million small and sick newborns worldwide require inpatient care each year. Many receive antibiotics for clinically diagnosed infections without blood cultures, the current 'gold standard' for neonatal infection detection. Low neonatal blood culture use hampers appropriate antibiotic use, fuelling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which threatens newborn survival. This study analysed the gap between blood culture use and antibiotic prescribing in hospitals implementing with Newborn Essential Solutions and Technologies (NEST360) in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

Methods

Inpatient data from every newborn admission record (July 2019-August 2022) were included to describe hospital-level blood culture use and antibiotic prescription. Health Facility Assessme

SUBMITTER: Murless-Collins S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10652421 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature