The importance of antibiotic prophylaxis in GBS-positive parturient women.
BACKGROUND
Bacterial streptococcal colonization of the vagina of a pregnant woman can be transferred to her newborn and induce a septic disease. The aim was to emphasize the requirements of timely intrapartal administration of antibiotics to prevent the transfer of GBS strains to the newborn.


METHODS
Three thousand two hundred seventy-eight pregnant women were evaluated who delivered babies during a 17-month period in 2006 and 2007 at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Ceské Budejovice. The results of their screening examinations from the 36th week of pregnancy were analyzed for information concerning their vaginal smears and smears from the newborns testing for GBS strains.


RESULTS
The authors demonstrate that timely intrapartal administration of antibiotics considerably reduces the colonization of newborns with GBS strains (Fisher's exact test, p=0.0490).


CONCLUSIONS
It is necessary to adhere consistently to preventive provisions which lead to a reduction in the colonization of newborns with GBS strains. Late application, i.e. within four hours before parturition, statistically significantly increases the risk of colonization with GBS.
Velemínský
Milos
M
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital Ceské Budejovice a.s., Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic. veleminsky@volny.cz
Hrubesová
Martina
M
Hanzl
Milan
M
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000502:physiology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents