Intestinal Flora of the Newborn and Administration of Antibiotics

Abstract

An infection occurs when a causative organism enters a living body, becomes productive and damages the function of the body. When the organism exists in the body, but there is no dysfunction , this is termed formation of bacterial flora. The relationship between infection and formation of bacterial flora is very complicated. No matter what kind of organism, if it colonizes and grows, theoretically an infection exists. In such a case, the word infection is not used clinically. There is formation of bacterial flora but there is no correlation to the toxicity of the organism. Even if bacterial colonization occurs, infection may not take place. If the resistance of the body is decreased, even though the bacteria is non-pathogenic it can become a causative organism and this non-pathogenic bacteria can trigger a disease. This is called an opportunistic infection and is normally a non-toxic infection. Although the bacteria may be very pathogenic to some people , colonization may occur but may not appear as a disease for a long time. In this case , the individual is called a carrier of a pathogenic organism. This is important because this individual could infect other people. When there is a decrease in the resistance of the individual, this organism could become the cause of a systemic disease . In general, this is not a problem after the newborn period unless the patient is undergoing immune-suppressant treatment or has a deficiency in immunity. In the neonatal period, even if the child is healthy, bacterial infection can occur. The newborn is in an aseptic environment before birth and has not received bacterial stimulation. It takes time for the establishment of the cellular immune mechanism against bacteria. A normal flora must be developed for protection against bacterial invasion. Because of these factors, the premature and the newborn are in a precarious position and they can develop severe infections. Antibiotics are frequently administered to these children. As there are many kinds of causative organisms,