Intravenous Colistin in the treatment of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter in neonates

Background: Neonatal sepsis caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria has been reported in different parts of the world. It is a major threat to neonatal care, carrying a high rate of morbidity and mortality. While Colistin is the treatment of choice, few studies have reported its use in neonatal patients. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of all neonatal patients who had multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter sepsis and were treated with Colistin over a 2-year period. Patients' charts and hospital laboratory data were reviewed. Results: During the study period, 21 newborns were treated with Colistin. All had sepsis evident by positive blood culture and clinical signs of sepsis. The median gestational age and birth weight were 33 weeks (26-39) and 1700 g (700-3600), respectively. Nine (43 %) were very low birth weight infants. Eighteen (86 %) were preterm infants. Nineteen (91 %) newborns survived. No renal impairment is documented in any of our patients. Fourteen (67 %) of our patients had elevated eosinophil counts following Colistin treatment, for those patients, the average eosinophilic counts +/- standard deviation before and after Colistin therapy were 149.08 +/- 190.38 to 1193 +/- 523.29, respectively, with a p value of less than 0.0001. Conclusion: Our study showed that Colistin was both effective and safe for treating multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter neonatal sepsis. This is a retrospective study. No universal protocol was used for the patients. The factors that might affect the response or cause side effects are difficult to evaluate.