Health Care : Current Reviews

Risk-based management for the prevention of GBS infection in neonates

7^th World Summit on Neonatal Nursing and Health Care & 5^th World Congress on Infection Prevention and Control

October 18, 2022 | Webinar

Akylas Grammeniatis

University of Peloponnese, Greece

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Health Care Curr Rev

Abstract:

Introduction: Group B streptococcus (GBS) has been identified as one of the commonest causes of sepsis and meningitis in neonates leading to increased rates in neonatal morbidity and mortality among developed countries, while being correlated with resulting in preterm birth. At present, preventive antibiotic regimens are administered only to these pregnant women who have been identified as having risk factors to develop GBS infection or those with positive cultures for GBS, based on the updated guidelines (risk-based strategy). Methods: One of the goals of this research was to investigate if there is any correlation between GBS infection and preterm delivery, through looking thoroughly in the available GBS outcomes of the maternity unit that the study took place, as as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of current risk-based protocols compared to universal screening in the prevention of neonatal GBS disease. Results: GBS has been shown not to be an imminent cause of preterm delivery, a statistic that was one of the main parameters of this study, as only 7 of the 2.753 pregnant women that were found to have GBS positive vaginal or rectal cultures resulted in delivering premature neonates (<37 weeks of gestational age). Discussion: After reflecting on the results of the data of the maternity hospital, 1237 neonates in total have received antibiotics for suspected GBS sepsis, that was finally identified in only 23 newborns (6 of them premature), resulting in administrating unnecessarily chemoprophylaxis to 1214 pregnant women in total. Besides, only 35% of pregnant women have been tested for GBS during their antenatal period according to the data collected. Conclusion: Despite a small decrease in the number of GBS cases, neonatal GBS infection still remains a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality (especially for the preterm neonates) Overall, ideally every single woman, irrelevant to any risk factors, should be investigated via vaginal and rectal cultures for any potential GBS infection of her urogenital system, during her prenatal period and more specifically between 35 and 37 weeks of gestational age (universal screening based protocol).

Biography :

Akylas Grammeniatis is currently working at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Royal Free Hospital, London and is a PhD candidate in the University of Peloponnese, Greece, PhD entitled: ''Correlation between asymptomatic bacteriuria - bacterial vaginosis and streptococcal vaccine with preterm birth’’. His latest publication ‘A review of current knowledge on the development of a Group B Streptococcus vaccine for pregnant women and the protection of neonates’ was part of his research study to investigate the acceptability of the latest vaccine candidates that would protect pregnant women and their neonates against GBS infection.