[Results of a national survey on the antibiotic therapy of neonatal bacterial infection due to materno-fetal contamination].

The aim of the study was to overview the antibiotic treatments usually prescribed in the different neonatal units and NICU's for neonatal primary bacterial infections. Maternal or neonatal fever, shock, respiratory distress, leuconeutropenia, hyperfibrinemia as well as an increased level in C-Reactive Protein appeared to be the best clinical diagnosis criteria. Before isolation of the bacteria, the most frequently prescribed treatment was a combination of ampicillin and gentamicin. When no bacteria grew up, the treatment was usually discontinued after a few days. When a presumably pathogenic bacteria was found either in blood, or CSF or urine or peripheral cultures, the treatment lasted around 10 days. However, in proved meningitis, the treatment lasted around 20 days. In case of Streptococcus type B and Listeria monocytogenes, ampicillin (100-200 mg/kg/day) was often used in combination with gentamicin (3-4 mg/kg/day), in spite of the recent availability of new aminoglycosides. When the isolated E. coli was ampicillin-resistant, Cefotaxime was frequently used in combination.