New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS): The use of antibiotics in preterm babies, as a lifesaving measure, may make them vulnerable to microbial resistance, claims a study.

Preterm infants are vulnerable to infections and require early antibiotic interventions. However, the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, reveals that these life-saving measures come with significant effects on the infants' nasopharyngeal microbiomes.

Researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Rigshospitalet in Denmark conducted a study on 198 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from 36 preterm infants, born between 28 and 32 weeks of gestational age.

The infants were divided into two groups: those who received antibiotics within the first 24 hours of life due to an increased risk for early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS), and those who did not receive antibiotics. The samples were collected from birth up to 8–10 months of age.

The results showed the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) associated with the nosocomial pathogen Serratia marcescens, which remained in the nasopharynx of 92 per cent of affected infants long after hospital discharge. Serratia marcescens is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Achal Dhariwal, from the Institute of Oral Biology, at the University of Oslo said the study highlights "the importance of hospital environments in shaping the preterm infants' resistome (the antibiotic resistance genes)".

While the study found no lasting alterations in the nasopharyngeal resistome beyond the early months of life, the consistent presence of resistance genes associated with Serratia marcescens highlights the lingering impact of hospitalisation, said the team calling for the "judicious" use of antibiotics.