Current status of group B infection in neonates: a multicenter prospective study.

Objectives: To investigate the incidence of maternal group B (GBS) colonization and neonatal early-onset GBS disease (GBS-EOD), and to study the factors associated with the development of GBS-EOD in the offspring of pregnant women with GBS colonization.

Methods: A total of 16 384 pregnant women and 16 634 neonates delivered by them were enrolled prospectively who had medical records in Xiamen Maternal and Child Care Hospital, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Capital Medical University, and Zhangzhou Zhengxing Hospital from May 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020. Unified GBS screening time, culture method, and indication for intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) were adopted in the three hospitals. The incidence rates of maternal GBS colonization and neonatal GBS-EOD were investigated. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with the development of GBS-EOD in the offspring of pregnant women with GBS colonization.

Results: In these three hospitals, the positive rate of GBS culture among the pregnant women in late pregnancy was 11.29% (1 850/16 384), and the incidence rate of neonatal GBS-EOD was 0.96‰ (16/16 634). The admission rate of live infants born to the GBS-positive pregnant women was higher than that of those born to the GBS-negative ones (<0.05). The live infants born to the GBS-positive pregnant women had a higher incidence rate of GBS-EOD than those born to the GBS-negative ones [6.38‰ (12/1 881) vs 0.27‰ (4/14 725), <0.05]. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that placental swabs positive for GBS and positive GBS in neonatal gastric juice at birth were independent predictive factors for the development of GBS-EOD (<0.05), while adequate IAP was a protective factor (<0.05) in the offspring of pregnant women with GBS colonization.

Conclusions: GBS colonization of pregnant women in late pregnancy has adverse effects on their offspring. It is important to determine prenatal GBS colonization status of pregnant women and administer with adequate IAP based on the indications of IAP to reduce the incidence of neonatal GBS-EOD. .