The importance of antibiotic prophylaxis in GBS-positive parturient women

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.

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.

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).

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.