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Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol. 28, No. 1, January-March, 2010, pp. 83 Correspondence Clinical microbiology for neonatal infections *R Viswanathan, AK Singh Department of Neonatology, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, 244, A.J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata - 700 020, India Correspondence Address: *Department of Neonatology, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, 244, A.J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata - 700 020, India, rupa_vish@rediffmail.com Date of Submission: 19-Jun-2009 Code Number: mb10028 PMID: 20061780 DOI: 10.4103/0255-0857.58745 Dear Editor, The guest editorial in the April 2009 issue of the journal discussed a topic of great relevance in today's changing medical scenario. Clinical microbiology is the need of the day. In this regard, we would like to share our experience in the field of clinical microbiology. Ours is the first independent Department of Neonatology in Eastern India. For the last two years we have been trying to implement the science of microbiology in a clinical setting. This idea was questioned as the hospital already has a microbiology set up which is a traditional laboratory based system. Through research and departmental funds, we set up an intradepartmental microbiology laboratory, with a medical microbiologist at the helm, to deal with neonatal infections. The services of this laboratory are also available to a sick newborn care unit in Birbhum district of West Bengal. The use of automated systems for blood culture and bacterial identification has helped reduce the turnaround time for results. A day-to-day liaison between the microbiologist and clinical staff helps in swift decision making and management of individual patients. Such rapid communication was helpful in early detection of an outbreak of sepsis in the previous year. Weekly rounds are taken by the microbiologist and clinical faculty to monitor colonization and infection rates and usage of antibiotics. As a result, the microbiologist is learning the clinical aspects of neonatal infections and clinical staff learns not to take ad hoc decisions regarding antibiotics. The empirical use of antibiotics has decreased drastically as also sepsis related mortality. A training undertaken by the microbiologist in the Microbiology and Infectious Disease Department at Children's Hospital, Westmead, Sydney has helped in better orientation and focusing of the work. Our unit is now a part of the Asia Pacific Neonatal Infection Surveillance (APNIS) study group headed by Prof David Isaacs. Our model is an experimental one. We have faced several challenges at each step. We hope that this endeavour will inspire other institutions, if not specialised units, to develop the field of clinical microbiology. Copyright 2010 - Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology |
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