[Postnatal infections with problem organisms (author's transl)].

Two problems are discussed: hospital infection of neonates and potentially fatal neonatal infections caused by group B streptococci and E. coli K1. The incidence of hospital acquired infections in a neonatal intensive care ward was 12.4%. Premature infants with an average weight of 1673 g were particularly prone to infection. On the average, infected patients stayed in hospital 34.8 days, uninfected patients 6.8 days. The most common infections were sepsis, skin infections, infections of the upper and lower airways and meningitis. Group B streptococci are among the most frequent pathogens of potentially fatal postnatal infections. The "early" form (usually sepsis) and "late" form (usually meningitis) are presented in detail.