Screening della colonizzazione vagino-rettale da streptococco di gruppo B in gravidanza

Abstract

Group B beta-haemolytic streptococcus (GBS) is a bacterium that colonizes the genito-intestinal tract of many women and is one of the main causes of neonatal sepsis if screening and antibiotic prophylaxis are not carried out during pregnancy. The best strategy for identifying colonized women (and therefore subjecting them to intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis) is based on universal cultural screening with the execution of a vagino-rectal swab at 36-37 weeks of gestational age. In 2007, the prevalence of GBS-colonized pregnant women was on average 15.5% in the Piedmont Region (Italy) laboratories that followed the international culture guidelines, while it was 10.5% in the laboratories that did not follow them. In 2010 the Piedmont Regional Health Department carried out an awareness-raising intervention that led to an increase in the average prevalence of GBS (19.2% in 2018), resulting in a net reduction in false negatives. Accurate identification of the carriers to undergo intrapartum prophylaxis makes it possible to prevent the greatest number of early neonatal infections.