title: Selective maternal culturing to identify group B streptococal infection.
abstract: During a 5-year period vaginal cultures were obtained from all women with an obstetric history of premature onset of labor or premature rupture of membranes. With these indications, 1,213 (12.7%) of all parturient patients were cultured and 10.2% of those cultured were colonized with group B beta-hemolytic streptococci. Maternal colonization did not correlate with ABO blood group, although a significantly higher percentage of Rh negative women were colonized (p < 0.01). During this 5-year period, 20 infants had documented early-onset infection (sepsis or meningitis) with group B beta-hemolytic streptococci. All 10 infants had a maternal history of premature onset of labor and/or premature rupture of membranes. Mothers of eight infants were cultured and seven of these cultures were positive. Approximately one of every 20 infants designated at high risk actually developed early-onset disease. Selective maternal culturing effectively identifies those infants as risk for early-onset group B streptococcal disease.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001789:Blood Group Antigens; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D008581:Meningitis / Q000382:microbiology; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000382:microbiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000382:microbiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001789:Blood Group Antigens