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Am J Perinatol 2015; 32(04): 357-362
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1387933
Original Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Does Maternal Intrapartum Antibiotic Treatment Prolong the Incubation Time Required for Blood Cultures to Become Positive for Infants with Early-Onset Sepsis?

Siddhartha Sean Sarkar
1   Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
,
Indira Bhagat
2   Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, Wisconsin
,
Varsha Bhatt-Mehta
3   Pharmacy, Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
,
Subrata Sarkar
1   Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

27 May 2014

24 June 2014

Publication Date:
13 September 2014 (online)

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Abstract

Background We hypothesized that maternal intrapartum antibiotic treatment delays the growth of the organism in the blood culture obtained during the work-up for infants with suspected early-onset sepsis (EOS).

Methods Single center, retrospective review of infants with blood culture–proven EOS over 13.5 years period. EOS was defined by isolation of a pathogen from blood culture obtained within 72 hours of birth and antibiotic treatment for  ≥ 5 days.

Results Among 81 infants with positive blood cultures, 38 were deemed to have EOS and 43 were deemed contaminants. The organisms grown were as follows: Escherichia coli in 17 infants, Group B streptococcus in 10 infants, and others in 11 infants. Overall, 17 infants with EOS did not receive intrapartum antibiotics and had blood cultures drawn for being symptomatic after birth. The other 21 infants who received intrapartum antibiotics had blood culture drawn primarily for maternal chorioamnionitis. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) incubation time to blood culture positivity was not different in infants who received intrapartum antibiotics compared with infants who did not (19.6 hours, IQR 16–28 hours vs. 19.5 hours, IQR 17.2–21.6 hours, p = 0.7489).

Conclusion Maternal intrapartum antibiotic treatment did not delay the time to blood culture positivity in infants with EOS.

Keywords

intrapartum chemoprophylaxis - early-onset neonatal sepsis - time to blood culture positivity

Note

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.


 

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