© 1981 by Oxford University Press
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Neonatal Septicaemia at the Jordan University Hospital*
Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan Amman
Correspondence: Dr. Hisham Nazer, Assistant Professor in Paediatrics, University of Jordan, Amman P.O. Box 13350, Jordan.
112 cases of neonatal septicaemia were diagnosed at the Jordan University Hospital over the two years period (1977–1978). Of these 90 babies were born outside JUH and were subsequently referred to the Special Baby Care Unit. The mortality rate among all cases was 42% (42.8% for 1977 and 41.2% for 1978).
Though the study covered babies up to one month 82 (73.2%) were diagnosed within the first week of birth; the male to female ratio was 2.1:1. Significant etiological factors were found in the seasonal distribution of cases, age at the time of diagnosis, referred cases and a positive blood culture; the latter had also some prognostic significance (t = 1.49, p = 0.0681).
The incidence of Staphylococcus species was higher than all isolates (53%). It is well known that the gram negative bacilli are fully capable of causing more serious and fatal infections.
It is concluded that there is a new trend in the causative organisms but there is in general a little change in the status of neonatal septicaemia over the two mentioned periods.