Re: Group Beta Streptococcus
From: Claudia Twisdale RN (ctwisdale@mediaspecialty.com)
Tue, 10 Sep 2002 17:45:46 -0500 (CDT)
Many OB's now screen for beta strep between 28-36 weeks, and treat
during labor if indicated. My personal thought is it should be done.
The babies I have worked with in the nursery that had beta strep were
amazing. These were normal healthy babies at birth, no problems, and
BAM about day 2-3 they crash. Often they are treated with antibiotics,
and recover nicely. However, they can also have life lasting problems,
as I have also seen. Look into what ACOG reccomends. American College
of OB and GYN's. Good luck with school!
At Tue, 10 Sep 2002, Wanner Jill wrote:
>
>Hi, my name is Jill Snyder and I am a Nursing Student
>at the University of North Dakota. My sister-in-law
>encountered a scary situation while giving birth to
>her baby girl. During the delivery she passed Group
>Beta streptococcus (GBS) to her baby. This led to
>complications that sent her baby to the NICU for ten
>days. I did some research on this topic and would
>appreciate any knowledge on the issue.
>Spitzer and Turow (2000) state that since the 1970's
>GBS has been one of the leading causes of death and
>illness in newborm babies in the United States. A
>study that they headed reported that in 1990 there
>were 7,600 cases of GBS reported in newborns with 310
>deaths among otherwise healthy babies.
>Preboth (2001) reports that there are two strategies
>to help in the prevention of GBS. The first one is
>the risk-based approach. Here the women in labor who
>have risk factors for GBS transmission are offered
>intrapartum chemoprophylaxis. The second strategy is
>the screening based approach which allows all pregnant
>women to be tested for GBS aty 35 to 37 weeks of
>gestation. With this screening you could virtually
>omit this problem. I am interested to know the
>protocol in different facilities.
>Schuchat (1999) states that during the 1990's the
>issue of GBS has shifted to prevention. The increased
>use of intra partum antimicrobial prophylaxis has led
>to substational declines in this prenatal disease.
>This form of treatment has also proven to be cost
>effective.
>Now that I have this information I would appreciate
>any response on GBS as to feelings and practices on
>this issue. Thank you, Jill Snyder. College of
>Nursing Student, University of North Dakota.
>
>Preboth, M. (2001). Prevention of early-onset GBS
>disease in infants. American Family Physician. 63(8),
>p.1641.
>
>Schuchat, A. (1999). Group B streptococcus. The
>Lancet. 353(9146),p.51-56.
>
>Spitzer, A.R., Turow, J. (2000). Group B streptococcal
>infection early onset disease controversies in
>prevention guidelines, and management strategies for
>the neonate. Clinical Pediatrics. 39(6),p.317-326.
>
>http://dir.remember.yahoo.com/tribute
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