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. 2014 Jul;165(1):23-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.01.010. Epub 2014 Feb 13.

Early empiric antibiotic use in preterm infants is associated with lower bacterial diversity and higher relative abundance of Enterobacter

Corryn Greenwood  1 , Ardythe L Morrow  2 , Anne J Lagomarcino  3 , Mekibib Altaye  4 , Diana H Taft  5 , Zhuoteng Yu  6 , David S Newburg  6 , Doyle V Ward  7 , Kurt R Schibler  8
Affiliations

Early empiric antibiotic use in preterm infants is associated with lower bacterial diversity and higher relative abundance of Enterobacter

Corryn Greenwood et al. J Pediatr. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the impact of empiric ampicillin and gentamicin use in the first week of life on microbial colonization and diversity in preterm infants.

Study design: The 16s ribosomal DNA community profiling was used to compare the microbiota of 74 infants born ≤32 weeks gestational age by degree of antibiotic use in the first week of life. The degree of antibiotic use was classified as 0 days, 1-4 days, and 5-7 days of antibiotic administration. All of the antibiotic use was empiric, defined as treatment based solely on clinical suspicion of infection without a positive culture result.

Results: Infants who received 5-7 days of empiric antimicrobial agents in the first week had increased relative abundance of Enterobacter (P = .016) and lower bacterial diversity in the second and third weeks of life. Infants receiving early antibiotics also experienced more cases of necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, or death than those not exposed to antibiotics.

Conclusions: Early empiric antibiotics have sustained effects on the intestinal microbiota of preterm infants. Intestinal dysbiosis in this population has been found to be associated with elevated risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, or death.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Definitions for metagenomic sequencing and analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pie graphs depicting relative abundance of bacterial genera detected in stool specimens from study infants as a function of antibiotic exposure over the first three weeks of life.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Simpson diversity index depicted in relation to antibiotic receipt (No, 0 days; brief, 1-4 days; or intensive antibiotics, 5-7 days) during the first three weeks of life.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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