Perinatally acquired Pseudomonas infection: a newly recognized maternal risk factor.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a less common but, nonetheless, serious bacterial pathogen implicated in early-onset neonatal sepsis. This report demonstrates perinatal transmission from a mother with a long smoking history who had an oral abscess surgically drained prior to delivery and never received antibiotic therapy. This case emphasizes the need to consider prophylactic antibiotic coverage in similar patients to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with this type of perinatally acquired infection.