TREATMENT OF NEONATAL GRAM-NEGATIVE INFECTIONS WITH AZTREONAM

Twenty-two neonates ages 2 days to 70 days with suspected or proven bacterial infections were treated with aztreonam. Eighteen patients received 30 mg/kg of aztreonam every 8 to 12 hours, and four patients received 50 mg/kg because of suspected septicemia with Pseudomonas sp. Organisms isolated from 14 of the neonates included Klebsiella sp (10), Escherichia coli (2), Serratia sp (2), and Pseudomonas sp (4); 5 patients had mixed infections, and 8 were culture negative. Nineteen (86.4%) of the 22 patients were clinically and microbiologically cured. Three patients suffering from septicemia and other complications (toxoplasmosis, very low birth weight, necrotizing enterocolitis) died during the treatment. No side effects were observed.