title: Normal ocular flora in newborns delivered in two hospital centers in Argentina and Paraguay.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the spectrum of normal conjunctival flora in newborns in two hospital centers in North Argentina and Paraguay.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective observational study, conjunctival specimens were obtained from the right eyes of newborns prior to the application of any topical medications. Culture samples were also obtained from the cervicovaginal secretions of the infants' mothers. All samples were directly inoculated into culture media and all growth were identified and quantified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 190 newborns studied, 126 were delivered vaginally and 64 via caesarean section (C-section). A total of 180 different bacterial strains were acquired from the vaginally delivered infants and 77 from the C-section group (P=0.078, Student's t-test). Conjunctival cultures obtained within one hour of birth showed that 85 out of 101 samples (84%) from both the vaginal and C-section group had positive cultures, compared to 84 out of 89 samples (94%) obtained more than 1 h after birth (P<0.001). Among the vaginally delivered newborns, the most common bacteria isolated were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (in 69 samples, 38%), Propionibacterium spp (36, 20%) and Corynebacterium spp (29, 16%). In the CES, the most common isolates were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (39, 51%), Propionibacterium spp (22, 29%) and Staphylococcus aureus (6, 8%). There was a significantly higher proportion of gram-positive rods (P=0.017) isolated from infants delivered vaginally (16%) than from those delivered by C-section (5%). No Neisseria gonorrhoeae were isolated in conjunctival samples. Among the 130 organisms isolated from cervicovaginal secretions in 81 out of 189 mothers, the most common organisms were Lactobacillus spp. (47%), Corynebacterium spp (21%), Gardnerella vaginalis (15%), and Candida spp (14%). No Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis were found in cervicovaginal samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most common conjunctival bacteria in newborns delivered by either vaginal birth or C-section were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. The proportion of positive conjunctival cultures was higher for infants delivered vaginally than for C-section delivery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eder
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fariña
authors.forename: Rosa R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Sanabria
authors.forename: Christopher N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Ta
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koss
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samudio
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuevas
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gines
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simancas
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Klauss
authors.forename: Herminia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miño de Kaspar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001118:Argentina; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000382:microbiology*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D010239:Paraguay; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014626:Vaginal Smears