Korea’s neonatal bloodstream infections fall, but tiniest premature babies remain at far higher risk
A five-year national analysis found that infection rates declined in neonatal intensive care units, while infants born under 750 grams remained especially vulnerable.
A nurse takes care of a new born baby at a hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on June 24.NEWS1
The rate of bloodstream infections in neonatal intensive care units across Korea has declined over the past five years, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Thursday.
However, infants born at extremely low birth weights faced a substantially higher risk of infection.
The analysis covered yearly data collected from neonatal intensive care units at 74 to 82 institutions nationwide through the Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System between July 2019 and June 2024.
Neonatal intensive care units primarily treat high-risk newborns who are particularly vulnerable to infection, including premature infants.
Bloodstream infections are a particular concern for these newborns, who often require central venous catheters for treatment and nutrition. The infections are identified when pathogens are detected in the blood culture and cannot be attributed to an infection elsewhere in the body. Such infections can cause serious complications in newborns and prolong hospital stays.
A total of 948 bloodstream infections have been reported over the five years. Of those, 836 cases, or 88.2 percent, were associated with central venous catheters, tubes inserted into large veins near the heart to deliver medication, nutrients and other substances.
Gram-positive cocci were the most common pathogens responsible for catheter-associated bloodstream infections, accounting for 63.2 percent of cases.
The overall rate of bloodstream infections declined to 0.35 cases per 1,000 patient-days in 2023 and 2024, down from 0.56 in 2019 and 2020.
A neonatal intensive care unit at a hospital in SeoulNEWS1
Bloodstream infections linked to central venous catheters also declined, from 1.78 cases per 1,000 catheter-days to 1.16. The decline points to an overall reduction in infection risk among high-risk newborns.
Birth weight was the factor most strongly associated with infection risk, the analysis found.
Newborns weighing less than 750 grams (1.65 pounds) at birth had a bloodstream infection rate about nine times that of infants weighing 2,500 grams or more. Their rate of central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infections was also about four times as high. This shows that extremely low-birth-weight infants face a much greater risk of infection.
Sustaining the decline in bloodstream infections will require continued prevention efforts, including minimizing the use of central venous catheters, strengthening hand hygiene and providing training for medical staff.
“High-risk newborns with low birth weights face a greater risk of bloodstream infections, so intensive infection prevention and management tailored to their characteristics are essential,” KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-Kwan said. “We will closely monitor changes in bloodstream infections in neonatal intensive care units, strengthen data analysis and continue supporting infection prevention efforts.”
BY JUNG JONG-HOON [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
