Pseudomonas (aeruginosa) infection in neonate

[HillaryC, RN, CRNA]

(I also posted this in the NICU forum)

Hi everyone,

I'm an adult SICU nurse, so I don't really know much about this subject, except that I do frequently see patients with respiratory pseudomonas. I just spoke with a friend whose friend's baby died a couple months ago from a pseudomonas infection. Here's what I know about the case: the baby was post-term, and mom was induced. She labored for 21 hours after her membranes were ruptured before they did a C-section. The baby (boy) apparently came down with a respiratory pseudomonas infection very quickly while in the hospital, was transferred to a more advanced NICU, was on ECMO, but died at 2 1/2 days old (they withdrew care). The other thing they told me was that there was meconium in his amniotic fluid.

How common is this? What do you think is the likely cause of his infection? Is pseudomonas common in L&D?

Thanks,

Hillary

[babynurselsa, RN]

The occasions of this that I have seen ended tragically each time.

After which Infection Control cultured anything to do with water. The humidifier bottles, vent circuits, the bottles of sterile water that we used for oral care, and the ones we used to rewet the leads, etc.

It isn't a common organism in L&D or the NICU. When it appears it is bad.

I do believe in one of the instances that it ended up the mother had the infection. In the other 2 we did not find the source.