Prevention of neonatal group B streptococcal disease: intrapartum detection and chemoprophylaxis of heavily colonized parturients.
Parturients with heavy vaginal colonization of group B streptococci were selected randomly to receive either penicillin or no antibiotic. A simple and fast latex agglutination test, applied in 8977 consecutive parturients, detected 412 women with heavy colonization with group B streptococcus, 199 of whom were eligible for the study. The offspring of penicillin-treated women had a lower incidence of early-onset group B streptococcal disease (1.1%; 95% confidence interval 0-3.4%) than the controls (9.0%; 95% confidence interval 3.6--14.4%) (P less than .01). Among the offspring of streptolatex-negative parturients, the incidence of streptococcal disease was very low (0.07%). Thus, antibiotic prophylaxis of latex agglutination test-positive parturients would reduce the total incidence of group B streptococcal disease in the newborn by 25-80%.
Tuppurainen
N
N
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Hallman
M
M
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D010400:Penicillin G / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010404:Penicillin V / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011897:Random Allocation; D012307:Risk Factors; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000302:isolation & purification
D010400:Penicillin G; D010404:Penicillin V