A retrospective study on group B beta haemolytic streptococcal sepsis in early infancy

Abstract

Objectives To determine the incidence, clinical presentation and outcome of group B haemolytic streptococcal (GBS) sepsis Design, setting and method This was a two year retrospective observational analysis at Colombo South Teaching hospital. All clinically suspected and bacteriologically confirmed cases of GBS sepsis in infants up to three month of age were analysed. Data was obtained from individual clinical notes and records at the Department of Microbiology.

Results There were 21 cases, an incidence of 1.06 per 1000 live births. Thirteen (62%) were male. Seven (33%) were premature. Thirteen (62%) were early onset and 08 (38%) were late onset. Main presenting features on admission were respiratory 11 (52%), poor activity/feeding 09 (43%) and fever 08 (38%). Complications were mainly neurological (48%) Mortality was 4.7 %. Introduction Group B beta haemolytic streptococcal (GBS) infection in early infancy is a serious disease with significant morbidity and mortality1,2,3. Incidence and prevalence of GBS disease vary among institutions and countries3,4,5,6. A significant reduction of GBS infection has been observed in many studies after introduction of guidelines for prevention3,4,7,8 . However, studies on GBS infection are scarce in Sri Lanka. In our institute during 2007, we observed a considerable number of cases with GBS, having a serious course of illness with complications. This observation prompted us to proceed with this study.