Direct sibling contact and bacterial colonization in newborns.

A two-phase, experimental study tested the hypothesis that no significant association exists between direct sibling contact and the bacterial colonization rates of neonates during their initial hospital stay. In Phase I, 44 infants were randomly assigned to experimental (N = 23) and control (N = 21) groups. Infants in the experimental group had direct contact with an older sibling who had been screened for communicable diseases; infants in the control group did not. The dependent variable, bacterial colonization, was measured using cultures of nasal and umbilical swabs of all neonates in the study. Swabs were taken at admission and discharge. In Phase II, the same procedures were followed except that swabs were taken from the neonates (N = 33 in each group) at admission, before the sibling contact, and at discharge. Analysis of the data using the standard error of the difference between proportions showed no significant differences in the proportion of infants colonized by staphylococcal and streptococcal organisms. Thus, bacterial colonization rates and older sibling contact were not associated. Implications for care and further research are discussed.