Prevalence and antibiotic sensitivity of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection among antenatal women

Authors

  • Nishita Shettian Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, A. J. Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
  • Shetty Theertha Shankar Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, A. J. Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
  • Manjunath Kamath Ammembal Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, A. J. Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20181475

Keywords:

Commensal, Culture, Group B Streptococcus, Penicillin

Abstract

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection in pregnant women is a major concern as it causes septicemia in neonates which is fatal and potentially life threatening. Objectives of present study were to study the distribution of Group B streptococcus infection among pregnant women at term, to understand if penicillin is still effective as the drug of choice, to determine the alternate drug of choice in women with Group B streptococcus infection if resistant to penicillin and analyze the proportion of Group B Streptococcus infection as a vaginal commensal.

Methods: This is a hospital based prospective study comprising of 350 pregnant women at term gestation. Vaginal swabs as well as neonatal nasal swabs following delivery were collected under aseptic precautions and sent for culture and sensitivity.

Results: Vaginal swab culture reports of 308 women out of 350 showed a growth. Candida albicans (23.8%), Enterococcus (5.6%), Escherichia coli (4.2%), MRSA (4.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (1.4%) and Group B Streptococcus (1.4%) were the organisms isolated. Penicillin is still the drug of choice for group B Streptococcal infection in antenatal women with Linezolid being the alternate drug of choice. None of the neonatal nasal swabs revealed any growth on culture and sensitivity.

Conclusions: This study does not recommend routine screening for Group B Streptococcus in all pregnant women unless they have a positive history in previous pregnancies. Our study also revealed various other organisms which could be responsible for increasing the risk of maternal and neonatal morbidity.

References

Kenyon S, Brocklehurst P, Blackburn A, Taylor DJ. Antenatal screening and intrapartum management of Group B Streptococcus in the UK. BJOG. 2004;111:226-30

Anderson BL, Simhan HN, Simons KM, Wisenfeld HC. Untreated asymptomatic group B streptococcal bacteriuria early in pregnancy and chorioamnionitis at delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;196:524.e1-5.

Wood EG, Dillon HC Jr. A prospective study of group B streptococcal bacteriuria in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1981;140:515-20.

Heath PT, Balfour GE, Tighe H, Verlander NQ, Lamagni TL, Efstratiou A, HPA GBS Working Group. Group B streptococcal disease in infants: A case control study. Arch Dis Child. 2009;94:674-80.

Vergnano S, Menson E, Embleton N, Russell AB, Collinson A, Heath P. Missed opportunities for preventing group B streptococcus infections. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2010;95:F72-3.

Prevention of perinatal group B streptococcal disease: A public health perspective. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR. 1996;45:1-24.

Shah V, Ohlsson A; Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. Prevention of Early-onset Group B Streptococcal (GBS) Infection in the Newborn: Systematic Review and Recommendations. CTFPHC Technical Report #01-6. London, ON, Canada: Canadian Task Force; 2001.

Coulborn T, Gilbert R. An overview of the natural history of early onset group B streptococcal disease in the UK. Early Hum Dev. 2007;83:149-56.

Sharmila V, Joseph NM, Babu TA, Chaturvedula L, Sistla S. Genital tract group B streptococcal colonization in pregnant women: A South Indian perspective. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2011;5(8):592-5.

UK National Screening Committee. Group B Streptococcus: The UK NSC policy on Group B Streptococcus screening in pregnancy, London: NSC; 2008 Avaliable at http://www.screening.nhs.uk/groupbstreptococcus

Orrett FA. Colonization with Group B Streptococci in pregnancy and outcome of infected neonates in Trinidad. Pediatr. Int. 2003 Jun;45(3):319-23.

Orish VN, Ofori-Amoah J, François M, Silverius BK, Mensah EK. Microbial and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of high vaginal swab culture results in sekondi-takoradi metropolis of the western region of ghana: retrospective study. Eur J Clin Biomed Sci. 2016;2(5):45-50.

Downloads

Published

2018-04-28

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles