A study of the prevalence of group B streptococci in the third trimester of pregnancy

Authors

  • Vikas Tambe Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  • Versha Shokeen Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  • Himadri Bal Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  • Ajita Mishra Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20194353

Keywords:

Antenatal screening, Early neonatal sepsis, Group B Streptococci, Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, Neonatal sepsis, Vaginal and rectal colonisation

Abstract

Background: Group B Streptococci (GBS) is an important cause of early onset neonatal sepsis and the maternal colonization of this organism is a key factor in the occurrence of GBS associated morbidity and mortality in the newborns. Timely recognition of its presence in the genital tract of a pregnant women and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis can significantly bring down the burden of the disease in neonates. A cross sectional study was conducted on  antenatal women during 35-37weeks of gestation to evaluate the prevalence of Group B Streptococci in third trimester of pregnancy and explore the feasibility of including GBS screening in the routine antenatal investigation protocol.

Methods: 200 antenatal women satisfying the exclusion/inclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Vaginal and perianal swabs were collected using sterile swab sticks and inoculated using the specified media. Beta hemolysis and typical colonies were looked for under microscope. Positive cases were subjected to intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis and the neonates were observed for 72 hours to look for any signs of sepsis.

Results: It was found that 2% of the women screened were positive for GBS .While none of the newborns of the 4 positive cases showed any signs of sepsis.

Conclusions: Prophylactic intrapartum prophylaxis against GBS has shown to decrease the chances of neonatal sepsis but more detailed and robust studies are required before incorporating routine screening in our antenatal care system.

References

Schuchat A, Whitney C, Zangwill K. Prevention of perinatal group B streptococcal disease: a public health perspective. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Recomm Rep. 1996;45(RR-7):1-24.

Gil EG, Rodríguez MC, Bartolomé R, Berjano B, Cabero L, Andreu A. Evaluation of the Granada agar plate for detection of vaginal and rectal group B streptococci in pregnant women. J Clin Microbiol. 1999;37(8):2648-51.

Bevilacqua G. Prevention of perinatal infection caused by group B beta-hemolytic streptococcus. Acta Biomed Ateneo Parmense. 1999;70(5-6):87-94.

Hoogkamp-Korstanje JA, Gerards LJ, Cats BP. Maternal carriage and neonatal acquisition of group B streptococci. J Infect Dis. 1982;145(6):800-3.

Gilbert R. Prenatal screening for group B streptococcal infection: Gaps in the evidence. Int J Epidemiol. 2004;33:2-8.

Shet A, Ferrieri P. Neonatal and maternal group B streptococcal infections: a comprehensive review. Indian J Med Res. 2004;120:141-50.

Baker CJ, Clark DJ, Barrett FF. Selective broth medium for isolation of group B streptococci. Appl Microbiol. 1973;26(6):884-5.

Uday R, Shetty MB, Dev G, Shivananjaiah C. Prevalence of group B streptococcus (GBS) in third trimester - A prospective cross sectional study. Int J Med Health Res. 2015;1(3):8-11.

Santhanam S, Jose R, Sahni RD, Thomas N, Beck MM. Prevalence of group B Streptococcal colonization among pregnant women and neonates in a tertiary hospital in India. J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc. 2017;18(4):181-4.

Hajare V, Madhavi LH, Singh HK. Antibiogram of Group B Streptococci Isolated from the vagina of pregnant women in third trimester of pregnancy. People’s J Sci. 2012;5(2):52-7.

Downloads

Published

2019-09-26

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles