Sepsis prevention in neonates in Zambia study: Impact of an infection prevention bundle on neonatal sepsis and mortality

Abstract

Sepsis is a major cause of mortality in neonates in sub-Saharan Africa. Bloodstream infections (BSIs), the most common hospital-associated infections in neonates, occur more frequently in resource-limited countries than in industrialized countries and contribute to many in-hospital neonatal deaths. We assessed the efficacy of a novel bundle of low-cost infection prevention and control (IPC) measures targeted to known and suspected risk factors for neonatal hospital-associated BSI. We studied the impact of this intervention bundle on BSI and mortality in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia