The effect of perinatal antibiotic prophylaxis on an early onset of symptomatic infections in newborns

Abstract

Abstract Aim. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive perinatal antibiotic therapy on the occurrence of an earlysymptomatic infections in newborns. Material and Methods. The studied material consisted of data obtained from medical records of 1,328 born alive infants and their mothers. Advanced parameters were described with appropriate numbers, arithmetic means, standard deviation, median as well as minimum and maximum values. The level of statistical significance was p<0.05. Results. When it comes to 6.62% of newborns, they demonstrated the presence of early signs of infection. The Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection was found in 14 cases, but only in 5 of them pure GBS strains were isolated. E. coli bacteria was reported in 33 neonates, while the other bacteria naming: Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacteriaceae, taphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 42 newborns. Among 24 newborns showing clinical signs of infection and positive indicators of inflammation in laboratory tests, simultaneously negative results of bacteriological cultures were reported. Conclusions. In connection with the introduction of an obligation to perform tests for GBS, amount of used antibiotics is increasing. However, the effectiveness of intrapartum antibiotic therapy and its prevalence appear to be unsatisfactory. The color of amniotic fluid may have an impact on the occurrence of intrauterine infection, including early symptoms of the GBS infection.