[Evaluation of alternative hemoculture tests for the diagnosis of early neonatal sepsis]

In order to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of coadjuvant tests such as external auditory canal swab culture and cultures from nasopharyngeal and gastric aspirates, and to determine the incidence and etiology of early neonatal sepsis (ENS) at our Unit, 90 newborn cases whose mothers experienced premature rupture of the membranes (PRM) were studied prospectively. Although a firm diagnosis requires positive blood cultures, the difficulty in recovering microorganisms and the trauma induced by sample collection in the baby justify the search for alternative diagnostic tests. Out of 2293 childbirths during 1991, 90 mothers (4%) had PRM more than 24 hours pre-partum, while 6.9/1000 (16/2293) developed ENS. In newborns from PMR mothers, ENS percentage was 3.3%, but increased to 5.5% in association with chorionamnionitis and reached 8.8% in premature cases. Among etiological ENS agents, Gram-positive microorganisms predominated (Table 1), particularly Staphylococcus aureus. Despite the finding that none of the coadjuvant assays (Table 2) had sufficient sensitivity or positive predictive value to identify all septic cases, they may prove useful to pinpoint newborns at high risk due to amniotic fluid exposure to infection or to chorioamnionitis.