Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, antibiotic resistant profiles, and risk factors of early fecal carriage of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and staphylococci among 150 healthy Saudi neonates born in a hospital setting in central Saudi Arabia.
Methods: This prospective study was conducted in Al-Bukayriyah General Hospital, Qassim, Saudi Arabia, between June 2012 and January 2013. The E. faecalis and Staphylococcus spp. isolates were identified manually, and Vitek2 system was used for identity confirmation at the species level and minimum inhibitory concentration-susceptibility testing.
Results: Enterococcus faecalis (n=73) and Staphylococcus spp. (n=18) were recovered. Unlike staphylococci, E. faecalis colonization did not significantly vary from day one up to 7 days of life, regardless of the type of feeding, but it was relatively higher among vaginally versus cesarean delivery. Both Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) carriage increase as the body weight increases, and this difference was significant (p=0.025) for S. epidermidis. High-level resistance in Gentamycin among E. faecalis isolates was 25% and 11% to Streptomycin. Thirty percent of S. epidermidis were resistant to oxacillin and exhibited multidrug-resistant (MDR) patterns of 5 resistant markers, which were also observed among 2/5 (40%) of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates.
Conclusion: Enterococcus faecalis did not significantly vary in relation to type of delivery, age up to 7 days, and type of feeding. The neonatal fecal carriage of MDR isolates should be considered as a crucial reservoir to the further spread of antimicrobial resistance genes among hospitals, cross infections, and the community.