Rectovaginal Colonization With Pathogenic During Pregnancy And Neonatal Outcomes.

PURPOSE

The role of pathogenic colonization in asymptomatic pregnant women is not well understood. The purpose of this work was to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and neonatal outcomes of pathogenic colonization in pregnant women.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 137 women from southern Taiwan with singleton pregnancies were enrolled between March 2016 and June 2017. The women were prospectively screened for colonization in the rectovaginal region during prenatal examination. The exclusion criteria are twin pregnancy of the mother and major anomaly of the neonate. All isolates were identified as either pathogenic or commensal strains, and their susceptibility to various antimicrobials was investigated. Clinical data of the infants were retrieved from their medical records.

RESULTS

Results showed that 35.8% of asymptomatic pregnant women had pathogenic colonization in the rectovaginal region. Neonates born to such mothers showed significant morbidities, including hospitalization (OR= 3.74, 95% CI= 1.1811.87), hyperbilirubinemia (OR= 2.81, 95% CI= 1.246.38), and gastrointestinal symptoms (OR= 5.53, 95% CI= 1.39~21.94). Maternal colonization with pathogenic at rectoanal site was a risk factor for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia after Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) adjustment (52% vs 24%, adjusted = 0.048).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of pathogenic colonization in Taiwanese asymptomatic pregnant women was high, and the neonates born to colonized mothers exhibited potential neonatal morbidities. Larger studies are necessary to confirm these findings.