Prevalence and Risk Factor for Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli Colonization at Birth in Premature Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND Escherichia coli causes neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) that is associated with high mortality and increasing antibiotic resistance. Thus, we estimated the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility and risk factors for colonization of E. coli in premature infants at birth and characterized the pathogenicity of the isolates. METHODS A prospective surveillance study was conducted at three Japanese perinatal centers between August 2014 and February 2017. Infants weighing