Affiliations: Department of Microbiology, Safdarjung Hospital and
VMMC, New Delhi, India | Department of Pediatrics, Safdarjung Hospital and
VMMC, New Delhi, India
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Deepthi Nair, D-II/2201 Vasant Kunj, New
Delhi-110070, India. E-mail: deepthinair2@gmail.com
Abstract: Blood culture remains the gold standard for diagnosing neonatal
septicemia. Although automated continuous monitoring blood culture systems have
generally been shown to be superior to conventional manual systems, there are
few data relating to their use specifically in neonates. The aim of this study
was to compare the manual method of blood culture with an automated BacT/Alert
3D system for detection of neonatal septicemia in terms of rate of recovery of
pathogens and time to positivity. One hundred and one matched pairs of blood
culture specimens from patients on a neonatal intensive care unit were
evaluated by the two methods. The yield of significant pathogens with the
BacT/Alert 3D system was 45.5%, compared with 18.8% with the manual
method (P<0.0001). Moreover, streptococci, which are important neonatal
pathogens, were detected exclusively with the automated system. The median time
to positivity with the automated system was 11.5 h, compared with 24 h for the
manual system. The BacT/Alert 3D system offers more sensitive and rapid
detection of neonatal septicemia than a manual blood culture method. The
clinical benefits of this may justify the additional cost of automated blood
culture systems in developing countries where manual systems currently remain
commonplace.
