The risk of neonatal septicaemia after prolonged rupture of the membranes in Nigeria.

In a study of 80 babies delivered after prolonged rupture of membranes in Wesley Guild Hospital (WGH), Ilesha, over a 16-month period, 18 (22.5%) were found to have a positive blood culture. Babies with a positive blood culture were more ill (p less than 0.02) and males were significantly more affected by culture proven infection (p less than 0.02). The mortality rate was significantly higher in babies with a positive blood culture (p less than 0.01). The high incidence of septicaemia in this group of babies in our environment may be due to the unhygienic environment from which mothers and babies were referred and delay in presentation. Improved obstetric and neonatal care will therefore reduce the morbidity and mortality due to septicaemia in such babies in Nigeria. Such babies should continue to be treated routinely for presumed infection till facilities for prompt diagnosis of neonatal septicaemia are more readily available.