A study on association of early onset neonatal septicemia and maternal vaginal micro flora at a tertiary care center in Bihar

Abstract

Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is the single most important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the community, accounting for around 30- 50%. With this background, this study was planned to study the incidence of early neonatal septicemia and its correlation with the pattern of maternal vaginal flora in labor by the Department of pediatric medicine and Microbiology of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College & Hospital, Bihar, India. Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study conducted from October 2020 to September 2021 by the Department of pediatric medicine and Microbiology of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College & Hospital, Bihar after approval from the ethical committee of the Institute. All consecutive antenatal women attending the outpatient or emergency department and getting admitted in the labour room were screened to be included in the study. Two high vaginal swabs (HVSs) were taken from the posterior fornix by a sterile cotton-tipped swab carefully not touching the anal area. The HVSs were transported to the microbiology lab immediately for processing. Results: Out of 150 women, 92 women (61.2%) showed vaginal colonization. Vaginal colonization was predominantly by gram-positive organisms in followed by a mixture of organisms and gram-negative organisms. The majority of women yielded coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus [CONS] followed by Escherichia coli in, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA). Conclusion: Neonatal sepsis is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in neonates. Early onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) is a severe condition with high mortality rate. EONS commonly caused by maternal microorganism before or during the delivery process.