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Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales infections among infants following vertical colonization in a neonatal intensive care unit

Journal of Perinatology volume 45, pages 977–980 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) has become prevalent among neonates. The present study aimed to describe the incidence of ESBL-E colonization among neonates admitted to a NICU and the incidence of subsequent ESBL-E infection among those with ESBL-E colonization.

Study design

Patients admitted to the NICU at Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center between April 2011 and March 2023 were enrolled. On admission, the subjects were routinely screened for ESBL-E using pharyngeal and rectal swabs, and those colonized with ESBL-E were assessed for the development of an invasive ESBL-E infection during their NICU stay.

Results

ESBL-E was isolated in 105 of the 8247 neonates (1.3%) admitted to the NICU. Among these patients, 12 (11.4%) experienced the development of an invasive ESBL-E infection.

Conclusion

Although ESBL-E colonization occurred in only 1.3% of the neonates admitted to the NICU, 11.4% of them experienced the development of an ESBL-E infection.

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Data availability

The data analyzed in the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank James R. Valera for his assistance with editing this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Mimori Abe

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuto Otsubo & Yuho Horikoshi

  3. Microbiology Laboratory, Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Tomoyuki Tame

  4. Department of Neonatology, Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Kaoru Okazaki

Authors
  1. Mimori Abe
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  2. Yuto Otsubo
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  3. Tomoyuki Tame
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  4. Kaoru Okazaki
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  5. Yuho Horikoshi
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Contributions

MA conceptualized and designed the study, collected the data, carried out the analysis, and drafted the manuscript. YO helped with the initial draft and literature search and updated the final version. TT assisted with collecting the data. KO and YH conceived the idea, assisted with developing the manuscript, and supervised the entire work. All the authors have approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mimori Abe.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The institutional review board of Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center approved this study (2023b-177).

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Abe, M., Otsubo, Y., Tame, T. et al. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales infections among infants following vertical colonization in a neonatal intensive care unit. J Perinatol 45, 977–980 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02256-7

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