Related Experiment Videos
Noma neonatorum: Its aetiopathogenesis
Lancet (London, England)
|August 5, 1978
Summary
Noma neonatorum, a severe neonatal condition, is often fatal within days. This study identifies Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the primary cause in affected infants, differentiating it from adult noma.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology
Background:
- Noma neonatorum is a severe gangrenous condition affecting neonates, particularly premature and low-birth-weight infants.
- This condition has a rapid onset and is frequently fatal within 1-3 days.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causative agent of noma neonatorum.
- To differentiate the etiology of noma neonatorum from that of noma in older children and adults.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 35 cases of noma neonatorum.
- Bacteriological cultures from blood, gangrenous lesions, rectal swabs, and cerebrospinal fluid.
- Histopathological examination of affected tissues.
Main Results:
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated in a high percentage of cases: 86.3% from blood cultures, 96.0% from gangrenous areas, 58.3% from rectal swabs, and 60.0% from cerebrospinal fluid.
- The gangrenous process involved blood vessels in the deep cutis or subcutis and extended superficially.
- Fusospirochaetosis, the cause of noma in older individuals, was not identified as the cause in neonates.
Conclusions:
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia is the apparent cause of noma neonatorum.
- This finding distinguishes noma neonatorum from noma in older children and adults, which is associated with fusospirochaetosis.